Lost Mountain Part 2

After reading the second half of the book, I still believe that coal mines need to be shut down. In the second part Erik Reece takes a different look at what is going on in Kentucky. He still goes to Lost Mountain and observes, but he talks to many different people that are affected by these coal mines in different ways. Erik Reece made two points that really stuck out in my head the corruption in coal mining, and the lack of consideration for the people that the industries are showing.

Erik Reece shows how both the government and coal mining businesses are corrupt by Jack Spadaro’s story. Spadaro found a number of County Coal executives that were aware that spills were going to happen and did nothing to prevent them. He finds out that once George W. Bush was elected, there is nothing he can do about it. The coal companies support campaigns of our politicians. At the end of the day it is all about money and politicians and coal companies will support each other.

The second point that drives me crazy is the lack of consideration these companies have for these Kentucky citizens. Reece goes into great detail on how many families’ houses and land had been destroyed by companies exceeding their boundaries. Like hurting their property is not enough, Erik lists how people are being killed by these drivers carrying way too much coal. People are getting killed because these drivers cannot drive right and they are getting away with it.

Lost Mountain gets me more upset about coal mining every time I read it. It is horrible to see that our government is so corrupt that they can do this and get away with it. It just makes me wonder what else the government is hiding. Finally, the fact that innocent people are getting killed and drivers are sometimes getting away with it makes me sick. Every time I open this book it truly opens my eyes to the world around me.