I was posting a long post about a class I attended at the state DEP's headquarters on bethics; the collection and analysis of benthic macro-invertebrates for water quality testing purposes. Also about my most excellent day after the indoor training. But, I got a call from my son Nick and I lost all train of thought. He is living with his Dad in FL. After a few bumps in the road, he is now doing well, feeling happy and growing up to be a fine young man. I am so proud to be his Mom. :-) He wants to come and see me soon It won't be until Summer probably, so I told him about this blog, and said it was the next best thing to being here with us. Right?
I wish Nick got to see the streams today with me. Rusty designed and managed the construction of two awesome streams. This was wasteland before, and now there are steams trickling clear water gently down over boulders and cobbles of rock on a mountainside. The streams are full of these wonderful little benthos, mainly these little bugs who are present and healthy when the water quality is good. They were plentiful there!
Rusty was proud of his work and happy to see the natural habitat coming to life. I was enlightened to a new view on coal mining in a way I did not expect. See, the same thing happens when you build roads, houses and Malls to the watershed and to habitats and pollution etc. Except when you have all this infrastructure it is permanent. The mining that is done in WV is not all mountain removal, a large part, over half, is deep mining. Often these are places that have already been mined long ago, and the coal companies might come in and do more deep mining. I can say that it is not pretty. I saw my first active mine today. Trucks, equipment and piles of the black gold. The same black gold that I see passing by in trains transporting it out to YOU all. Unless you live completely off the grid, don't drive a car or buy food or consume or use any products including soap. But what is important is this, I have seen the after. After all the mining is complete, there is reclamation, restoration and from what I witnessed today, Gaia does heal herself, even if she gets a little help from her friends. Pools of clear water with a variety of benthos, fish and birds bugs trees. Everything thing you might see in an National State Park. The after was breathtaking. This was not a select place where they might take the general public, on a "Friends of Coal" campaign.. This was out in the mountains, where only the wildlife was living. This was a glimpse for me to see where there are good people making right in the world for you. People who love the earth, who have studied botany, entomology, forestry, and on and on, to reclaim the earth. The meek shall inherit the earth.
I have more to say, but Brittany needs to take a History test online !
~crow
Ok. I am back.
I get a sense of sadness when I think about the earth being harmed. The Nuclear Tragedy unfolding in Japan. The loss of life, not only human, but the whole eco system. It made me sad to see the a active coal mine. It also makes me sad to see new development for people. Things happen everywhere, by "Man or by Mother Nature". In all of this, there is one concept I must remember; I am not separate from nature, I am nature. I am happy and creating when I am healed.
I wish Nick got to see the streams today with me. Rusty designed and managed the construction of two awesome streams. This was wasteland before, and now there are steams trickling clear water gently down over boulders and cobbles of rock on a mountainside. The streams are full of these wonderful little benthos, mainly these little bugs who are present and healthy when the water quality is good. They were plentiful there!
Rusty was proud of his work and happy to see the natural habitat coming to life. I was enlightened to a new view on coal mining in a way I did not expect. See, the same thing happens when you build roads, houses and Malls to the watershed and to habitats and pollution etc. Except when you have all this infrastructure it is permanent. The mining that is done in WV is not all mountain removal, a large part, over half, is deep mining. Often these are places that have already been mined long ago, and the coal companies might come in and do more deep mining. I can say that it is not pretty. I saw my first active mine today. Trucks, equipment and piles of the black gold. The same black gold that I see passing by in trains transporting it out to YOU all. Unless you live completely off the grid, don't drive a car or buy food or consume or use any products including soap. But what is important is this, I have seen the after. After all the mining is complete, there is reclamation, restoration and from what I witnessed today, Gaia does heal herself, even if she gets a little help from her friends. Pools of clear water with a variety of benthos, fish and birds bugs trees. Everything thing you might see in an National State Park. The after was breathtaking. This was not a select place where they might take the general public, on a "Friends of Coal" campaign.. This was out in the mountains, where only the wildlife was living. This was a glimpse for me to see where there are good people making right in the world for you. People who love the earth, who have studied botany, entomology, forestry, and on and on, to reclaim the earth. The meek shall inherit the earth.
I have more to say, but Brittany needs to take a History test online !
~crow
Ok. I am back.
I get a sense of sadness when I think about the earth being harmed. The Nuclear Tragedy unfolding in Japan. The loss of life, not only human, but the whole eco system. It made me sad to see the a active coal mine. It also makes me sad to see new development for people. Things happen everywhere, by "Man or by Mother Nature". In all of this, there is one concept I must remember; I am not separate from nature, I am nature. I am happy and creating when I am healed.
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