Abandoning West Virginia’s Natural Resources
The powerful industry of coal mining has left the Mountain State in disarray as the result of coal mines that have been abandoned. Coal provides a major source of energy across America; the coal mines of West Virginia have not only provided a major source of coal, they have also provided jobs and those jobs have built communities. Even though coal mining has been prosperous, it has had negative effects on the economy and the environment when the mines are left abandoned. The cleanup of closed mines has become time consuming and expensive. Abandoned mines not only pose a danger to our water, soil and air, they also harbor hidden dangers. State and Federal agencies are taking the devastating effects of abandoned coal mines into their own hands by reclaiming West Virginia.