Laura A. Bozzi
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780262028806
- eISBN:
- 9780262327077
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262028806.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, Environmental Politics
In this case of mountaintop removal for coal in the Appalachian Mountains of the United States, Laura Bozzi explores the delicate insider-outsider tension of keep-it-in-the ground (KIIG) politics. ...
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In this case of mountaintop removal for coal in the Appalachian Mountains of the United States, Laura Bozzi explores the delicate insider-outsider tension of keep-it-in-the ground (KIIG) politics. Mountaintop removal activists recognize both the deep sense of place, history, and culture of the peoples of Appalachia and the impacts of mountaintop removal and coal on local and global ecosystems. This chapter shows how the quick violence of destroying mountains, streams, and rivers creates a slow violence of lung cancer and other diseases, along with diminished educational, employment, and retirement opportunities. Appalachian peoples are effectively pursuing a KIIG politics based on the reality of decreasing coal reserves, ever-increasing mechanization, and declining market share on the one hand, and a dire need for a solution that marries well-being and livelihood on the other. Finally, this chapter explores the uneasy transition of fear of a way of life for locals with the lack of transparency of coal companies.Less
In this case of mountaintop removal for coal in the Appalachian Mountains of the United States, Laura Bozzi explores the delicate insider-outsider tension of keep-it-in-the ground (KIIG) politics. Mountaintop removal activists recognize both the deep sense of place, history, and culture of the peoples of Appalachia and the impacts of mountaintop removal and coal on local and global ecosystems. This chapter shows how the quick violence of destroying mountains, streams, and rivers creates a slow violence of lung cancer and other diseases, along with diminished educational, employment, and retirement opportunities. Appalachian peoples are effectively pursuing a KIIG politics based on the reality of decreasing coal reserves, ever-increasing mechanization, and declining market share on the one hand, and a dire need for a solution that marries well-being and livelihood on the other. Finally, this chapter explores the uneasy transition of fear of a way of life for locals with the lack of transparency of coal companies.
Shannon Elizabeth Bell
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780262034340
- eISBN:
- 9780262333597
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262034340.003.0002
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Environmental Studies
Chapter 1 begins with a description of the historical roots of exploitation in Central Appalachia, revealing how the economic, political, and social structures of the region have long been influenced ...
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Chapter 1 begins with a description of the historical roots of exploitation in Central Appalachia, revealing how the economic, political, and social structures of the region have long been influenced by its ties with the coal industry. An overview of the declining coal economy and the rise and fall of the union is then discussed, followed by an account of the earliest attempts to end surface mining in the 1960s and 70s. The next section details the myriad environmental injustices that face the coalfield region today, including mountaintop removal mining, flooding, coal waste impoundment breaches, water contamination, coal dust air pollution, and high rates of a number of chronic health conditions, including cancer, heart disease, respiratory conditions, and depression. The final section of this chapter describes the present-day environmental justice movement that is fighting to hold the coal industry accountable for the harms it has brought to the Central Appalachian region. The chapter closes with a reminder of the puzzle that frames this book: given the enormity of the coal industry’s deleterious effects on local communities, why are there such low rates of movement participation at the local level?Less
Chapter 1 begins with a description of the historical roots of exploitation in Central Appalachia, revealing how the economic, political, and social structures of the region have long been influenced by its ties with the coal industry. An overview of the declining coal economy and the rise and fall of the union is then discussed, followed by an account of the earliest attempts to end surface mining in the 1960s and 70s. The next section details the myriad environmental injustices that face the coalfield region today, including mountaintop removal mining, flooding, coal waste impoundment breaches, water contamination, coal dust air pollution, and high rates of a number of chronic health conditions, including cancer, heart disease, respiratory conditions, and depression. The final section of this chapter describes the present-day environmental justice movement that is fighting to hold the coal industry accountable for the harms it has brought to the Central Appalachian region. The chapter closes with a reminder of the puzzle that frames this book: given the enormity of the coal industry’s deleterious effects on local communities, why are there such low rates of movement participation at the local level?
Shannon Elizabeth Bell
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780262034340
- eISBN:
- 9780262333597
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262034340.001.0001
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Environmental Studies
In Fighting King Coal, Shannon Elizabeth Bell examines an understudied puzzle within social movement theory: why so few of the vast number of people who suffer from industry-produced environmental ...
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In Fighting King Coal, Shannon Elizabeth Bell examines an understudied puzzle within social movement theory: why so few of the vast number of people who suffer from industry-produced environmental hazards and pollution rise up to participate in social movements aimed at bringing about environmental justice and industry accountability. Bell investigates the challenges of micromobilization through a case study of the coalfields of Central Appalachia, where mountaintop removal mining and coal industry-related flooding, sickness, and water contamination have led to the emergence of a grassroots environmental justice movement that is demanding protection from and accountability for the destruction and pollution in coalfield communities. The coal industry’s impact on communities has been far-reaching; however, recruiting new local residents to join the environmental justice movement has proven to be an ongoing challenge. Drawing on in-depth interviews, participant observation, content analysis, geospatial viewshed analysis, and an eight-month “Photovoice” project, Bell uncovers numerous factors contributing to the low numbers of local environmental justice activists, including depleted social capital, the coal-related hegemonic masculinity of the region, the coal industry’s cultural manipulation efforts, the fact that much of the mining activity is hidden, the power of local elite, and the changing face of the environmental justice movement. Through the Photovoice project, Bell reveals the importance of identities to the success or failure of local recruitment efforts in social movement struggles, ultimately arguing that if the local identities of environmental justice movements are lost, they may also lose their power.Less
In Fighting King Coal, Shannon Elizabeth Bell examines an understudied puzzle within social movement theory: why so few of the vast number of people who suffer from industry-produced environmental hazards and pollution rise up to participate in social movements aimed at bringing about environmental justice and industry accountability. Bell investigates the challenges of micromobilization through a case study of the coalfields of Central Appalachia, where mountaintop removal mining and coal industry-related flooding, sickness, and water contamination have led to the emergence of a grassroots environmental justice movement that is demanding protection from and accountability for the destruction and pollution in coalfield communities. The coal industry’s impact on communities has been far-reaching; however, recruiting new local residents to join the environmental justice movement has proven to be an ongoing challenge. Drawing on in-depth interviews, participant observation, content analysis, geospatial viewshed analysis, and an eight-month “Photovoice” project, Bell uncovers numerous factors contributing to the low numbers of local environmental justice activists, including depleted social capital, the coal-related hegemonic masculinity of the region, the coal industry’s cultural manipulation efforts, the fact that much of the mining activity is hidden, the power of local elite, and the changing face of the environmental justice movement. Through the Photovoice project, Bell reveals the importance of identities to the success or failure of local recruitment efforts in social movement struggles, ultimately arguing that if the local identities of environmental justice movements are lost, they may also lose their power.
