SALS

On our third day in West Virginia we went back to the old Oak Hill School and continued to help out with moving large objects from rooms, which we then had to move to the basement. On this day I actually forgot to take my inhaler before we went to the site, so my helpfulness was very limited this day since there was going to be a great deal of heavy lifting involved. I was really upset with myself for forgetting it when I should have known better but it obviously slipped my mind due to the excitement of going back to help out. Therefore the rest of the day my job was to hold the door open for those who were lifting long pieces of wood outside and to the basement. Even though I was not able to help as much as I really wanted to I am still glad I was able to help out in some way. This day turned out to be a little less active as our first day because we did not stay the full time like we did our first day, which was from 9-3, instead we stayed from 9-1 and left after our lunch break because we were going to go to a mountain to see how mountain top removal looks rather than just imagining it in our minds. A man named Garry organized the trip for us who also are quite involved in the SALS program. He met up with us outside of Oak Hill and we then proceeded to follow him to a place that was about an hour to an hour and a half outside of Oak Hill. Once there we meet up with a man named Larry who lives and has lived on top of the mountain for practically his whole life. We then went and sat on benches while he explained to us the issues of the area and living in Appalachia. He first explained to us what his life was like, how many people use to live on top of the mountain with him as well yet many have left due to the awful atmosphere that has caused many to fall victim to many diseases because of the poor air quality on top of the mountain. He also explained to us that he has had the opportunity to travel across the country to give speeches at many universities on the horrible results that mountain top removal coal mining has had on the region. He then explained how it is killing the people, that it is killing them slowly and how the industry is corrupt by allowing such a situation to happen and how it is not seen as murder when in fact it should be. I also share his sentiments; I do not understand how they can believe it to be ok when they are the reason for deaths and diseases to many who are exposed to its pollution. After he explained this to us we then trekked up the mountain where we got to see what mountain top removal look like and it was incredible. It was such a sad sight to see, how baron it was and to see a natural piece of land stripped and used for its natural materials. I am so glad I got to see it because it gave me a better understanding of what it looks like and how bad it is and I understand that it really needs to be changed.