Bringing Down the Mountains: The Impact of Mountaintop Removal on Southern West Virginia Communities (review)

2009 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 701-703
Author(s):  
John H. Barnhill
Keyword(s):  
West Virginia ◽  
Mountaintop Removal ◽  
The Impact

Marcellus Shale Gas Boom and Forestry Employment: Evidence from West Virginia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn A Gazal ◽  
Kathleen G Arano
Keyword(s):  
West Virginia ◽  
Shale Gas ◽  
Marcellus Shale ◽  
Growth Potential ◽  
Adverse Impact ◽  
Relative Wage ◽  
Forestry Sector ◽  
Movement Effect ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Advancement in drilling technology has increased natural gas extraction activities from the Marcellus shale deposit resulting in a shale gas boom in many regions, including West Virginia. This boom has created a significant labor demand shock to local economies experiencing the boom. A number of studies have shown that a shale gas boom directly increases employment and the income of those working in the industry. However, the boom can also have an adverse impact on other sectors through the resource movement effect and intersector labor mobility, pulling workers away from a related sector like forestry. Thus, an econometric model of employment in the forestry sector was developed to investigate the impact of the Marcellus shale gas boom in West Virginia. There is evidence of a labor movement effect with forestry employment negatively affected by the Marcellus shale boom. Specifically, the overall marginal effect of the shale boom on forestry employment is approximately 435 fewer jobs. However, the extent of the decline is slightly moderated by a higher relative wage between gas and forestry, perhaps suggesting diminishing returns and overall slack in the local labor market. Study Implications Although a Marcellus shale gas boom directly increases employment and the income of those working in that industry, it can have an adverse impact on other sectors by pulling workers away from a related sector like forestry. This study showed that employment in the West Virginia forestry sector was negatively affected by the shale gas boom. An important policy issue is how to manage the cyclical nature of shale gas booms and the negative impacts on other industries with long-term growth potential, like the forestry sector. This sector does not suffer through boom-and-bust cycles, making it important for long-term economic stability.

scholarly journals Increased Dementia Mortality in West Virginia Counties with Mountaintop Removal Mining?

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (21) ◽  
pp. 4278 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. K. Salm ◽  
Michael J. Benson
Keyword(s):  
West Virginia ◽  
Health Resources ◽  
Atmospheric Particulate Matter ◽  
Imaging Data ◽  
Mountaintop Removal ◽  
Satellite Imaging ◽  
Mining Sites ◽  
Mountaintop Removal Mining ◽  
Causative Factors ◽  
Type Studies

Atmospheric particulate matter (PM) is elevated in areas of mountaintop removal mining (MTM), a practice that has been ongoing in some counties of West Virginia (WV) USA since the 1970s. PM inhalation has been linked to central nervous system pathophysiology, including cognitive decline and dementia. Here we compared county dementia mortality statistics in MTM vs. non-MTM WV counties over a period spanning 2001–2015. We found significantly elevated age-adjusted vascular or unspecified dementia mortality/100,000 population in WV MTM counties where, after adjusting for socioeconomic variables, dementia mortality was 15.60 (±3.14 Standard Error of the Mean (S.E.M.)) times higher than that of non-MTM counties. Further analyses with satellite imaging data revealed a highly significant positive correlation between the number of distinct mining sites vs. both mean and cumulative vascular and unspecified dementia mortality over the 15 year period. This was in contrast to finding only a weak relationship between dementia mortality rates and the overall square kilometers mined. No effect of living in an MTM county was found for the rate of Alzheimer’s type dementia and possible reasons for this are considered. Based on these results, and the current literature, we hypothesize that inhalation of PM associated with MTM contributes to dementia mortality of the vascular or unspecified types. However, limitations inherent in ecological-type studies such as this, preclude definitive extrapolation to individuals in MTM-counties at this time. We hope these findings will inspire follow-up cohort and case-controlled type studies to determine if specific causative factors associated with living near MTM can be identified. Given the need for caregiving and medical support, increased dementia mortality of the magnitude seen here could, unfortunately, place great demands upon MTM county public health resources in the future.

A Vested Interest: Activist Anthropology in the Mountaintop Removal Debate

2001 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 15-18
Author(s):  
Samuel Cook
Keyword(s):  
West Virginia ◽  
Surface Mining ◽  
Vested Interest ◽  
The Other ◽  
Mountaintop Removal ◽  
Removal Method ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Activist Anthropology ◽  
Mountain West

"I want you to think about something that means so much to you—that you love so much—that you would give your life for it," said Larry Gibson as he addressed a group of students from my Appalachian Communities class visiting the remnants of his ancestral farm on Kayford Mountain, West Virginia. Most of my students had never given this question much thought. On the other hand, the majority of them (most of whom came from the urban Northeast) had never heard of the mountaintop removal method of surface mining until taking my class.

CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF MINESOILS ON A MOUNTAINTOP REMOVAL MINE IN SOUTHERN WEST VIRGINIA

2001 ◽  
Vol 2001 (1) ◽  
pp. 448-457 ◽  
Author(s):  
K.A. Thomas ◽  
J.C. Sencindiver ◽  
J.G. Skousen ◽  
J.M. Gorman
Keyword(s):  
West Virginia ◽  
Chemical Properties ◽  
Mountaintop Removal

The importance of farmers' markets for West Virginia direct marketers

2007 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheryl Brown ◽  
Stacy M. Miller ◽  
Deborah A. Boone ◽  
Harry N. Boone ◽  
Stacy A. Gartin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
West Virginia ◽  
Household Income ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Ordinary Least Squares ◽  
Lower Percentage ◽  
Farmers Markets ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Farmers Market ◽  
Part Time ◽  
The Impact

AbstractIn the winter of 2004–2005, over 300 of West Virginia's farmers' market vendors were surveyed with regard to sales levels, promotional techniques and operational characteristics such as hours worked, types of products produced and length of season. Vendors were categorized based on part-time, full-time or retired status, and full-time farmers, both with and without off-farm jobs, were found to be distinct from part-time and retired vendors with respect to 2004 total farmers' market sales and the percentage of household income from farmers' markets. Econometric analysis [ordinary least squares (OLS)] was performed to identify the impact of explanatory variables on total farmers' market sales, percentage of household income from farmers' market sales and amount of household income from farmers' market sales. Independent variables such as bargaining, cost-plus pricing, selling at markets outside West Virginia and providing print materials were found to have a positive impact on annual sales. The number of products produced, distance traveled to market and number of weeks at market were also positively related to the percentage of income obtained from farmers' market sales. Both part-time and retired producers received a lower percentage of household income from farmers' markets relative to full-time producers. Retired and part-time, along with limited-resource vendors (with annual household income less than $20,000) were also found to have lower total sales in the 2004 season. Identifying the characteristics associated with greater farmers' market sales and a higher reliance on such sales for household income will help in the sustained success of markets as engines of economic development and small farm viability.

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