How zombie coal mines are pushing climate voters to fight back

[@jmo2104]

Thank you for your patriotism in fighting the destruction of our beautiful country.

[@Jackofallzebras]

I had a friend from college who got his degree in environmental science, and he told me he thought he was going to help the planet. What he found out was that it’s cheaper for these companies to pay fines than it is for them to do what’s right and clean up the sites. He worked for a train company at the time, but it’s the same across transport and mining industries. Look up how much abandoned uranium mines in the west contaminate aquifers. It’s a shame.

[@byronchurch]

Campground rule should be universal ! “ always leave your campgrounds better than you found it . “

[@jeromefitzroy]

I don’t understand how some people can pollute without a conscience. After all, aren’t they also breathing the same air?

[@rchurch2769]

Yep, From the top of a big pile of money.

[@coalrivermountainwatch938]

Thanks Junior!

[@elementgypsy]

Keep fighting the fight. No coal!

[@dianahockins717]

Bless that young man using a drone. Yes, SPITE is a good motivator.

[@gregrogers3203]

He’s got a a real conscience and real guts

[@christina3maria]

Junior Walk is a hecking legend. Godspeed, hero!

[@etownump]

Good job, man! People like you help make the world a better place.

[@troygoss6400]

Privatize profit, socialize clean up. The American way.

[@thelionofjudah397]

That brother deserves to be commended! I love his spirit.

[@junked5214]

"What motivates me to keep going? Spite"

[@marvelouslife1309]

And I supposed these profitable companies are having the cleanups paid for by taxpayers? No. Just freaking no.

[@vrattler]

Thank you Junior!

[@aftonair]

Good man! Hold them accountable!

[@stphns1737]

Junior is extraordinary. What a hero.

[@mmark300]

Only one party thinks would should remain on fossil fuels and is in complete denial

[@mad_max2112]

Well you don’t mind all the things that fossil fuels bring to you. I challenge you to go 100 percent fossil free. You can start with your phone.

[@mmark300]

@@mad_max2112 No one said go 100% fossil free, but we have to start somewhere

[@youtubesnamingpolicysucks]

Okay... and how are these "green" energy items built, maintained and disposed of? The vast majority of raw material for those batteries come from strip-mining, many of those mines use children and or indentured labor, the batteries are not recyclable when they reach end of life and the components are just as TOXIC if not more so. The 500,000 charging stations the government paid $7.5B for has only built 7 chargers as of March 2024, the government is telling us that chargers only cost about $15k when the ACTUAL cost is closer to $100k per charger. Many of the current stations are only 80% reliable, each of them drawing enough power to power 20 homes, that's adding 10,000,000 new homes to the load on the power grid (California has already told it's residents to pick between their cars and AC the last few years). Let's not forget that when an EV burns it can take 100,000 gallons of water or MORE to extinguish the fire and the fumes from the TOXIC batteries is WORSE than gasoline, how does this help the water shortages in a lot of areas? What about all that TOXIC runoff going back into the rivers, streams and estuaries...? Now let's get on to wind turbines which are large, produce little energy over the course of their lifespan, are prone to mechanical failures, can only operate in a very narrow window of weather conditions, blades are made from TOXIC and non-recyclable fiberglass, require an insane amount of land for maintenance and support facilities, and break down regularly. Australia has so many blades they've just started dumping them out in the bush because they have no other way to dispose of or recycle them. You want truly CLEAN and reliable energy? Hydrogen, solar and possibly shifting back to nuclear. Honda made a hydrogen car and it is the most abundant element in the universe, the byproduct of burning it? Water. I know Elon is against it and always references cost, blah, blah, blah. Well it also goes AGAINST his business model, just like the Cybertruck trash can that he swore would only be $30k but costs $100k+. Solar fields across the SW would be beneficial in my opinion, no one really lives out in the deserts and we can easily build around the areas that have residents and that don't encroach on indigenous lands. These solar fields can also be piped right into the power grid to help offset hydro, coal, nuclear and natural gas. Nuclear to me is also viable, using nuclear reprocessing we can separate and repurpose old rods into new useable fissile material, and we just reopened the Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan. We have other viable options besides what we're being spoon-fed to believe in without question or forethought.

[@rchurch2769]

Unless the population stops growing, we definitely need alternative fuels for reasons beyond pollution. A time will come when sustainable oil reserves will be limited. The cost of extracting oil that is exceedingly more difficult to reach will also drive the price higher. In turn, it drives the cost of everything higher, not just because of transportation, but because it is also used in the manufacturing of almost every product you buy. Unless you are a wealthy person that primarily benefits from fossil fuels, taking a position of supporting only fossil fuels isn't in your best interest.

[@mad_max2112]

@@rchurch2769 YA and Jimmy Carter said we would be out of of fuel already. Oh and Al Gore said Florida would be under water along with Long Island, but here are and it’s 2024.

[@lfeb]

Keep up the good work! There's no reason in this day and age that we should be using coal at all!

[@debalynn]

Awesome work Junior!

[@nancyschiller7043]

THANK you ❤

[@jameshisself7375]

"The US mining industry is one of the most heavily regulated industries in the world." YES. Because it is one of the most detrimental industries in the world. Was this not obvious to their publicist?

[@AGtheGEEK]

God bless this man….

[@mattmcmahon8311]

This dude is so smart

[@TheHexidecimal]

As a WV native I'm sad to say I saw the corruption first-hand, I used to chill with Darrell McGraw That's why I left, I saw there's no jobs in Chas? What's the others like?

[@eliza2093]

Good reporting 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼❤️💯

[@thunderousapplause]

ideas for WV: what niche organic veg can be grown in back yards combined into a farmer's co-op and sold in bulk to high end grocers and restaurants? build solar panel factories?

[@MileHile]

There's such rich soil in WV. The state could be the organic American farm, feeding the entire area/ region healthy, unprocessed food.

[@Lex1uth3r]

Presidential elections don't matter? Well you're in a state that is red when it should be blue since that's the party that supports the working class and doesn't have a leader that is all about getting the 1% out of liability for wrongs and saying things like "beautiful clean coal".. We have similar issues up here in Carbon county PA, but it seems like there's been more of a cleanup effort for a lot of the sites. There really needs to be more corporate accountability though, and they should not be allowed to just sell off the property to a shell company that takes the cleanup funds and then declares bankruptcy requiring the taxpayer to take over responsibility through the EPA and DEP.

[@christinemurphy7204]

If that is good government control and perfection i spit. Destroy the environment for $. They are paid off to pass those bills

[@johnmartin3735]

SOON THE EARTH WILL FIGHT BACK

[@coffeecryptid]

he wrote a book :)

[@UmmYeahOk]

You know, if the coal industry would instead fund alternative energy, then they could have even more revenues for income. They could phase out coal, while retraining existing employees on how to operate the new equipment. Instead of funding campaigns so your dying industry can stay in business, you could persuade the government to help subsidize the phasing out process. You could get tax payers to pay for some, if not all of your new revenue streams with the promise of keeping jobs, created more, and being greener.

[@ReviewBoard-uy5nv]

I thought Trump said it was “clean coal”

[@IAmALawyerToo]

There is such a thing as clean coal!

[@etownump]

​@@IAmALawyerToo And where is that happening?

[@IAmALawyerToo]

@@etownump are u being sarcastic/rhetorical, or are u serious?

[@etownump]

@@IAmALawyerToo well, I'm being sincere, so I must just be ignorant. Where does digging coal out of the ground not pollute and destroy the land and water? What percent of coal is burnt in a clean way? I actually don't know the answers to these questions. But I have a guess.

[@IAmALawyerToo]

@@etownump there is a tremendous amount of research re the issue.

[@litterbug1483]

Government friends ran these business

[@Gastly_Ghost]

Lmao he’s just an activist I bet he’s glued himself to the road a time or two to stop oil but he’s so smart he wrote a book 😂.

[@dwayenway]

All you do is writing bs on the internet so he did a lot. you do nothing with your life

[@bjarkiengelsson]

He's accomplished more than you ever would.

[@Gastly_Ghost]

Lmfao y’all don’t know me or my accomplishments 😂. I’m actually a woodworker with patents pending so yeah Im doing pretty well.

[@bjarkiengelsson]

@@Gastly_Ghost 🤓 "aKsHuAlLy I'm a WooD WErkER" who cares

[@Afgooey420]

@@Gastly_Ghost you triggered them 😂.

[@tylerm0089]

I truly admire your courage, and hope one day I can make a difference in anything for the benefit of future generations.

[@tylerm0089]

Got DArN!!! I luv this man....i truly fear,,the more 3d, virtual reality goggles, dumb games, nonsense prizes/ gains, kids will never ever think of saving their planet, THIS GUY is a dying breed.....the companys will have bought our lives and souls once people like this guy stop fighting for the rights of the average WV citizen and the rights of the land, simply not overmining and destroying the natural, beautiful, and magnificent landscape that makes up West Virginia.

[@Blucifer-K]

We love just ruining the planet we will live on until we are extinct 🤣🤣

[@ryanehlis426]

Coal oil and natural gas is a good natural resource we need.

[@calikeisha365]

We also need clean drinking water. Are you saying you would prefer coal and natural gas to clean drinking water?

[@AB1Vampire]

Americans having American issues. Good people all.

[@NicholasVincent-ol1zk]

Value? At dublin?

[@MG_Franklin_Kirby]

He doesn't like coal mines... but he's fine using coal power to charge his drone's batteries, which also came out of a mine.

[@TechMan1900]

Natural resource extraction can be done without unnecessarily destroying the environment. He’s just making sure mining companies are responsible. Watch the video.

[@bjarkiengelsson]

You don't know that.

[@matt95856]

Video turned from systemic issues regarding the coal industry and the issues within the Appalachian region of the US into an activist video about offing all fossil fuels. I understand phasing out coal but u cannot just get rid of oil that’s not how it works. We will not be completely green for the next couple decades or even hundreds of years the technology is not there.

[@WavesofJava]

you make way too much sense

[@bjarkiengelsson]

It is, we're just not funding it because all the scientists (or at least most of them) have stakes in petrol products and power.

[@celestialnubian]

Coal extraction is even more environmentally destructive than oil extraction. The people have been run over by the corporate devils you apologize for. How about you educate yourself by looking up what an EPA Superfund site is and how many of them are awaiting cleanup currently. After that, tell me who should be allowed to pollute the water, air and soil.

[@bevmosals]

This is why we need to vote for Democrats and Progressives all up and down the ballot on November 5!! VOTE VOTE VOTE

[@CopperCityPatriot]

Well buddy. Judging by the 2024 election results, people don't care about drinking water nor the climate. We care more about migrants, the economy, and inflation, as well as being able to someday...retire.

[@H17life]

👏👏👏👏

[@homerj2017]

Boy,coal has been an employer in West Virginia longer than you been alive.Mind your business

[@benhoskins4719]

People have been in these hills longer than coal mining. Mind your business.

[@bjarkiengelsson]

So what? People have lived in those mountains for over ten thousand years at this point. Leave your destructive ways to your imagination.

[@johnnyfreedom3437]

This is too much in the morning. The fossil fuel industry makes me sick! We've got better ways to produce energy that don't pollute our planet! Why don't we use it more often?!

[@mad_max2112]

So go 100 percent fossil free. You won’t because you like what fossil fuels bring.

[@NicholasVincent-ol1zk]

The races' rep the entire race of county & town . Period use this on racist jargon. The truth races'

[@RossMalagarie]

So the coal mining family that made billions off pulling coal out of the earth wants to get paid billions to clean up the mess they made?😂

[@rebirth_mishap]

That's all well and good but West Virginians aren't exactly the kind of people that can "learn to code" if you get my meaning

[@vrattler]

I guess you've never heard of Katherine Johnson or John Nash. Of course not. You just want to propagate negative stereotypes.

[@dannycole319]

Democrat Policy, is focused on growing this. GQP Policy, is focused on destorying this. Vote 💙- for green-growth. - Vote 💔- for green-destruction.

[@preshisify]

😷 ☕ 🇺🇸 🗽

[@liddelrobin1546]

Funny how it’s so “destructive “ yet is some of the most game rich environment in the region. In fact mountain top removal areas are the places that elk reintroduction take place.

[@ryanehlis426]

We need the coal for energy and jobs! Coal is a natural resource we need!

[@tommydando7643]

Guess what you gobto electric cars and so on your goin to have to open more coal plants to be able to power the infrastructure we need more fossil fuels to power the electric grid...so keep fighting cause it will never stop

[@stevedoesnt]

Hm. Need the government to regulate the coal industry so that peoples lives can be saved… this seems very solidly inline with one particular presidential political party.

[@stevedoesnt]

But also, the same party that’s not going to help a rural people that’s going to backlash against any help they give, So yeah, better get those locals right-minded.

[@bigninja27]

A very unfortunate cycle.

[@cooperhagy-v5b]

[@ryanehlis426]

CO2 is actually very good for the environment, look up global greening 😊

[@bjarkiengelsson]

Not when the planets a desert, inundated by monsoons and hurricanes every few weeks. Read up in the real facts boi

[@rebirth_mishap]

That's probably his real name on his birth certificate, if he even has one

[@christinemorrison8414]

I am democrat

[@johnnydotson2624]

Mess with people's money,you disappear