A Requirement for Respect

by Rebecca Gayle Howell.

Originally delivered on behalf of Kentuckians For The Commonwealth, at 21c Museum. Louisville, Kentucky. December 06, 2009.

The people of Eastern Kentucky – West Virginia, East Tennessee – have been treated as the ‘Other America’ for more than a century. From Lil Abner to Shelby Lee Adams—from Charles Kuralt to Diane Sawyer— we create and propagate images of our own people that solicit, at best, a pathos of tin pan pity, and at worst, no empathy, at all. Do we know them? Shiftless, conniving men. Desperate women. Children too poor to eat anything but dirt. Our feverish faith in Capitalism requires a story, a parable for why Americans who struggle are to be blamed for their own strife.

The Other America. The Hillbilly. The American who – let’s say it out loud – deserves to suffer at the hands of global capitalism because he is idle, and because his mind is so simple, he cannot manage complex work.

Or, to drive home the point, the American who deserves to be exploited, because he is too foolish to insist on a complex local economy, a network of industries that might actually sustain his community’s wellbeing and growth.

Now, we find ourselves in the age of global warming. And, the wisdom of hindsight allows for some clarity: all the while that the cartoonist Capp was convincing us of his Dogpatch, Kentucky, the coal industry was convincing us it was the great provider, the only provider, of a way out of Dogpatch. Sears and Roebuck catalogues on the front porch. Gardens shriveling in the sun. Throughout America, in Appalachia and beyond, we believed electricity meant convenience meant civilized living meant dignity, hope. But in Appalachia we made a second dangerous pact: a codependency with a single industry, an extraction industry, that would become, during these same years, our only plan for economic progress—a single industry that would coincidentally become the leading contributor to our climate crisis. Our men were sent to work. Our women went to the picket lines. Our region became, unwittingly, the domestic front of what is now surely a global energy war.

In this context, it is plain to see that the degenerative imagery so often repeated of our people is, in many ways, just borrowed. Borrowed from the colonialist imagery of Africans, borrowed and made to fit our white fear of white poverty. This is important, because this kind of propaganda is confirmed in its ability to teach us how to turn a blind eye, how to allow for people, once unified and self-sustaining, to be divided against themselves so that their labor can more easily be exploited. It is an old machine. It has proven productive.

But our real problem does not lie with outsiders. It lies within. My mother is from Perry County, Gay’s Creek. But I was raised 30 minutes away from here, in a smoke-filled kitchen, listening to my family denigrate themselves. Cigarettes to lips, telling stories about how ignorant the people in Eastern Kentucky were. They were ashamed of themselves, of where they had come from, of what the world said it all meant. To be a Kentuckian is to be a self, divided. In Louisville, we too often act as if we are annexed, a metropolitan state all our own. In Lexington, like we are the Ellis Island for those who manage to make it out of the hills. This semester, in Morehead where I teach, one of my students explained to me that he understood mountaintop removal coal mining was happening, but that he, who had been born and raised in Rowan County, was not Appalachian, so it didn’t affect him. We understand it is humiliating to be associated with the stereotypes that go by our name. We understand it is humiliating to be associated with widespread destruction and oppression. And so, we do double-time, all the time, to say, “yes, but that’s not me.”

This must stop. The karmic cycle of these last 100 years is upon all of us and we in Kentucky are at risk for acting as a bellwether for a forthcoming culture of global warming: turn your back on your neighbor, save yourself. Activist Randy Wilson said to me once of coal, “We’re all economically tied to it and dependent on it… That creates desperation in people. We desperately need it and we’re desperately destroying ourselves with it.”

We no longer have the time for pity. We no longer have the time for blind eyes. Or divided selves.

These are the new images:

A Harlan County woman tears carpets out of her house, changes detergents, desperately reads scientific reports on chemical waste -- her children breaking into unnamed rashes, unable to breathe.

A Martin County science teacher battles the EPA’s shell game, trying to find out if her water is safe to drink.

A grandfather walks from West Virginia to Washington D.C. to save an elementary school from a potential sludge pond break.

Navajo and Hopi leaders fight Peabody Coal’s plans to stripmine their sacred ancestral homelands of Black Mesa, AZ.

Farmers in India offer their lives to protect their cancer-ridden community from a firing plant intended to consume 17,000 tons of coal a day.

A group of women in the Niger Delta acting as human shields against Exxon’s merciless economic rule.

Eastern Kentucky activists at the United Nations pleading our case in 2005.

Eastern Kentucky activists are arrested in Charlotte, NC, in 2009.

Do we walk away and say, yes, but that’s not me? Yes, but Exxon has a green initiative. Yes, but coal is now clean.

James Still is quoted to have said, If it happens in Afghanistan, it happens to me.” I think our imaginations have shrunk. Today, we don’t even dare to ask, if it happened in Appalachia, did it happen to me?

Thanks to Kentuckians For The Commonwealth’s support, I’ve spent these last many years driving in and out of Eastern Kentucky, documenting those who live with, and against, the coal industry. This opportunity— to develop a relationship with those who welcomed me into their homes—has forever changed my life and the way I want to live it. Those I have come to know, our people, my people, are the opposite of shiftless, hopeless, or dumb. The opposite. I have known a man who has, with his own hands, with his own tractor, spent upwards of a decade reclaiming mountaintops that the industry abandoned, so that they could once again grow trees. I have known a retired miner who now works with MIT to determine Kentucky’s potential for wind energy. I have known a Special Education teacher who spends her evenings writing letters to her elected officials, begging for the rights of her neighbors, begging that the coal truck drivers be required to take a different route. And I have come to believe that if we Kentuckians listen to each other instead of dictate, if we who live outside the mountain south follow the leadership of those who live within it— if we surrender to the truth that none of us are other or cartoons or deserving of exploitation— we stand to be a bellwether for a different kind of coming culture, a future rooted in our deeper past. We stand to be a bellwether for human responsibility, a requirement for respect, setting the terms for the forthcoming civil rights movement in this new, shared landscape, this earth of want and crisis.

Storied Ground

-Barbourville, KY

Addressing a crowd of students, teachers, and writers at Union College's Schaffer Library, Kentucky Poet Laureate Gurney Norman evoked both the history and timelessness of place with readings from new and published writing.

Interspersing personal stories with passages from Crazy Quilt, the forthcoming book which he refers to as an "assemblage of short fiction," Norman drew not only a personal history, but a history of the area, into focus.

Even though his growing up years were divided between towns which remain hours of travel away by road, he is quick to point out that in a straight line, they are mere miles apart.

His mind's facility for that sort of connection has positioned him well for his new role as the Commonwealth's Poet-in-Chief. Through written and remembered stories, he traced a path from Harrogate, TN up through the Cumberland Gap, to Barbourville, Hazard and Allais, KY, the coal camp where he lived his early childhood.

Revisiting memories, whether through storytelling or traveling to the site of an important event (the last time he saw his dad, at a bus stop, the scene of his parents' first date, a railroad tunnel in Tennessee) is, according to Norman, a "ritual I conduct for myself, to remember that I am a creature of feeling."

Still, the true power of his vision is his ability to conjure living history in his audience. Merely by having shared memory of an old building, or a stretch of road, he connects everyone in the room to one another, and from there, to the world.

By the end, even students who had come for "extra credit," as they put it, were lined up for a chance to talk one-on-one. Perhaps that is his greatest contribution: his effort and ability to remind us of the community we share, sometimes even when we don't like it.

Presidents Hu, Obama Speak About Clean Energy, Increased International Cooperation

Speaking after today's meetings with President Obama, China's President Hu said that, "The two sides [China and the US] have also officially launched the initiative of developing a China, US clean energy research center."

At home this means increased economic pressure on Big Coal. China is a growing consumer of coal globally, with lower emission standards than those adopted by the US. In the big picture, China is the largest hurdle for the Green crowd, having surpassed the United States in use at 1,310,000,000 short tons of coal per year.

This is a turn from China's previous stance on energy development, where the main argument seemed to be that the West had built itself on coal, which is cheap and reliable, and now sought to deprive undeveloped countries of the same easy access to cheap energy for manufacturing.

Obama said that the two countries are looking for a comprehensive deal to announce at next month's climate change summit that will "rally the world."

President Hu emphasized China's interest in non-proliferation of nuclear arms, saying that resolving the Iranian and Korean nuclear issues through dialog and negotiations "Serves the common interest of China, the United States, and other parties concerned."

He finished by stressing the importance of the relationship between the two nations, "Sustained sound and steady growth of this relationship to the greater benefits of the people's of our two countries, and people around the world."

Obama praised China for what he termed a critical partnership in our "Effort to pull ourselves out of the worst recession in generations."

The two agreed to pursue policy changes to help balance economic growth. The aims are to help America save more, and spend less, while at the same time, China agrees to pursue policies to spur domestic demand for products.

Obama claimed that this will lead to "Increased US exports and jobs on the one hand, and higher living standards in China on the other."

Interests diverged when it came to human rights. Hu wants the US to respect China on "core" issues, a reference to China's differences with the US over human interest issues in Taiwan and with the deposed leader of Tibet, the Dalai Lama.

Obama, meanwhile, pushed for a sterner stance from China regarding Iran, saying that if Iran fails to take its opportunity to demonstrate peaceful intentions, that "There will be consequences."

Beijing has demonstrated unwillingness to be harsh with Tehran, due in large part to significant economic ties between the two nations.

Homicide Called Into Question In Census Worker's Death

Clay County, KY-

Both WKYT and the Associated Press (AP) are reporting that officials investigating the September death of census worker Bill Sparkman now say that foul play is unlikely.

From the AP, "There were no defensive wounds on Sparkman's body, and while his hands were bound with duct-tape, they were still somewhat mobile, suggesting he could have manipulated the rope, the officials said."

Jerry Weaver, the Fairfield, OH man who found the body, disagrees. Mr. Weaver said that "There's no doubt." that Mr. Sparkman was murdered.

This new tack does corroborate earlier reports that Sparkman was found hanged, yet still in contact with the ground.

The yet unexplained death has fueled heated argument across the political and social spectrum. Allegations have ranged from charges of anti-government inflammation, targeted at the hyper conservative "Tea-Party" component of the Republican party, to notions that he accidentally discovered an illegal drug operation.

Homicide or not, Sparkman's death and recent events at Ft. Hood, Orlando, and closer to home in Campbellsville, KY are alarming evidence of the ongoing tensions of extensive years of war and the still struggling economy.

Coal in KY forum pt II

The last session of the day was a forum hosted by KET's Bill Goodman.

Most of what are referred to as Mountain Top Removal mines or MTR, are not actually that at all according to Tom Fitzgerald, director of the Kentucky Resources Council, (KRC). In fact what we are dealing with are 'area mines' which don't fall under MTR regulations, and "make a mockery of what Congress intended" when it passed regulations regarding the controversial practice.

There's no argument that modern society was built on coal, but "We're playing in a different world, and Coal's future depends on grasping that..." according to Jeff Goodell, journalist and author of Big Coal: The Dirty Secret Behind America's Energy Future. He made reference to climate change throughout, ending with the point that "You can't lobby Mother Nature". Hard words to hear for an industry that has seen its lobbying dollars grow over 500% from less than $5 million in 2002 to around $25 million in 2008.

Joe Craft, of Alliance Resource Partners, (ARLP), disagreed, citing a cooling trend globally over the past nine (9) years. When asked about his plans to deal with coal waste in the future, he reacted with shock, claiming that there were refuse disposal areas for slurry and coal ash. These impounds have received on again off again media attention, dependent mainly on when one of them fails, often to tragic consequences.

Fred Palmer, chief lobbyist for Peabody Energy, had even more to say, claiming that "The land is better after it is mined, than before it was mined." He also presented an industry initiative for Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS), a process where carbon is captured via built-in or bolt-on "scrubbers" to be installed at coal burning power plants. Many see this as a pipe dream, as the process for capturing carbon is still undeveloped and has been compared in scale and scope to the Manhattan Project.

Current estimates indicate that even 60% of our present carbon sequestration needs are the liquid equivalent of the United States' daily oil usage. Put another way, if we started sequestering carbon dioxide now, we would be burying over 20 million barrels of liquified CO2 per day.

Environmentalists were quick to point out that despite the lion's share of federal, not to mention state, subsidies going to Big Coal that alternative energy sources are rapidly approaching an economic break point. If, they say, coal was priced honestly, accounting for all the externalized liabilities not funded directly by the company, then that moment will come sooner. That would be another heavy blow to an industry already under fire for climate woes, or as Jeff Goodell put it "In rapid climate change you look for a bad guy."

Even Craft acknowledged that coal is on its last legs, indicating that it will only be the dominant energy source for the next 20-30 years. Palmer took a different course, claiming that with CCS that coal will become the leading source of energy for Tomorrow's needs, and citing President Obama as "Green Coal's advocate in chief".

Meanwhile, other countries such as Brazil, low on the list of coal users at 19th worldwide, or about 2% of the United States' consumption, are enjoying the privileged status of not being caught up in the global economic perils. While coal use is not a direct indicator of entanglement in the meltdown, Brazil does prove that a country can flourish without heavy fossil fuel dependence, even in times of stagnation and loss.

There can be no doubt that coal reserves are dwindling. The difference lies in what we plan to do about it. The industry argues that we should keep it cheap as long as possible. The problem is that this leads to sloppy energy management. Despite having energy that is only the 5th most expensive per kWh, Kentucky ranks 21st on actual dollars spent on electricity. An honest assessment of the true cost of coal would curb this wasteful trend. At the same time it would send signals to the market, encouraging and harnessing entrepreneurship in alternative energy.

Coal in KY forum

Today the University of Kentucky hosted a forum about the future of coal in Kentucky. Speakers ranging from mine managers to elementary school teachers gathered for the day long conference at the Hilary J. Boone center on the University campus.

According to Jason Bailey, research and policy director of Mountain Association for Community Economic Development (MACED), coal production peaked in the mid-nineties and has been on a steady decline since. This decline would be exacerbated by regulations like Waxman-Markey which bring to light some of the phantom external costs currently burdening citizens instead of corporations.

Proponents of the coal industry argue that without coal, many places in Central Appalachia would have no viable economic solutions. Former Governor Paul Patton went so far as to call coal "Our Toyota" a reference to the plant opened in 1988 in Georgetown, KY which heralded a resurgence of the economy in the Bluegrass. Patton went on to compare ending reliance on coal because of human dangers to asking society to stop driving because accidents occur on roadways. As for the environment, he added this "If you want to talk about the environment, well, 25% of methane released in this country comes from cows, but is anyone saying we shouldn't eat steak?"

Even so, coal mining directly provides only 1% of jobs in the entire state of Kentucky. That number expands if indirect jobs, truck drivers for example, are included. According to Wayne Rutherford, Judge-Executive in Pike Co., there are 4,666 miners employed in Pike Co. alone. Further, many miners live in Pike Co. and work in the industry in other counties, which, he claims, distorts the economic picture.

What is clear is that Kentucky paid a net subsidy of almost $115 million to the coal industry in 2006. This state support continues despite a study from WVU Research Professor Michael Hendryx linking increased mortality in non-miners due to exposure to mining and its effects.

Missing from the early sessions were references to MTR, or mountain top removal, coal mining. A process which involves clearing a seam of coal from under its 'overburden', which is often dumped into neighboring valleys. To date 1200 miles of streams and 1 million acres of land have been laid to waste in Appalachia, 600 thousand of those acres in Kentucky alone. Despite this, and coal advocates claims that flat land is beneficial for future economic development, only 3% of land leveled by mining has been used to date.

The result, according to Suzanne Tallichet, Professor of Sociology at Morehead State University, is Appalachia as an 'internal colony'. This is a variation of Dependency Theory, the idea that wealth flows from the undeveloped periphery to the wealthy, developed core. In this case the periphery is internalized, resulting in a warped socio-economic structure that extracts resources from one region to fuel another.

Many assertions about the harm brought to the region by coal mining were met with subdued laughter and occasional mockery.

Despite the fact that the room was filled with Coal insiders the anti-regulation crowd felt ill at ease. Several times both Gov. Patton and Judge-Executive Rutherford seemed on guard, making claims that "...we [Pike] are a completely Green county..." and "Coal is under siege." More unsettling was Gov. Patton's suggestion that coal opposition originates in the Northeast and is based on a jealousy of the "economic advantages" provided to our region by cheap energy.

These economic advantages include KY being the 47th poorest state in the country. A look into census data reveals that 29 of the poorest counties by household in the USA are in KY and that almost all of those are in the Appalachian region of the state, known for its coal production. For all the good that the Industry likes to talk about, the bottom line just isn't there.