Where are the Solutions?

Erik casually gives his reading audience the idea that the people of Eastern Kentucky can pull themselves out of poverty by utilizing their natural resources for logging, furniture making, and gathering herbs. As pointed out in the book, the people of Eastern Kentucky are in poverty, have been treated like sub-humans, and intentionally educationally suppressed. Does he think that not a single soul in Eastern Kentucky has had the same or similar ideas? The question is not what can we do. The question is how do we do it. First of all, how are people in poverty going to get the funds needed to purchase the tools required for logging or furniture making? Who is going to educate them on how to go about such tasks? Even if they had the tools and knowledge to make furniture, what are they going to do make a bunch of stuff to collect in their back yards? How will they market the furniture once they make it? Giving such an idea without offering solutions on how to go about it could be perceived as offensive by the people living in Eastern Kentucky. One such person as Reece mentions is Paul David Taulbee who stated, “He was tired-sick and tired of outsiders coming into Eastern Kentucky and telling its people what they should do.” (62) This is an understandable attitude considering they themselves have probably had similar ideas circulating amongst themselves but became frustrated and hopeless in not knowing how to implement them.

What we need to do is give them the tools, education, funding, etc. to allow them the opportunity to act on their own ideas. Possibly the people in power could do something to attract a company to come in to do the logging on the contingency that they must replenish what they take, offer a particular, fair salary range, offer on the job training, and give the jobs to those who reside in Eastern Kentucky. This would open up not only jobs doing the logging but also jobs replanting trees, office personnel, truck drivers, etc. It’s possible that these ideas have also already been contemplated. If so, we must stop contemplating and take action.

Erik Reece is highly effective and very descriptive in making his reading audience aware of slurry spills, the effects of blasting atop the mountains, watershed contamination, unenforced regulations, and corruption. But again, what are the solutions? How will a higher tax, logging, furniture making, or herb collecting stop the slurry spills, water contamination, flooding, etc. How will it improve the health risks and living conditions the people of Eastern Kentucky are being forced to live with?

Unfortunately, the problems that strip mining has given rise to are vast and complex and will probably take the people who are in control to get off their duffs and let go of their greed to make a significant difference. However, if each individual makes it their personal responsibility to cut down on the overconsumption of energy, we too can make a difference. But, how do we do that? To resolve a problem, we must first be aware that the problem exists. Erik Reece does an excellent job at making his audience aware of the problems associated with strip mining and I commend him for that. Maybe his purpose does not lie in coming up with the solutions but rather in bringing awareness and grabbing people’s attention and that’s ok.

However, if he doesn’t have the solutions and can’t give the people whose attention he did grab advice as to how they can be part of the solution then direct them to the people who can. Otherwise, making people aware is completely ineffective and pointless. Our heads are merely being filled with more information that leaves us hanging with even more concerns and fears that we feel completely powerless and hopeless to do anything about.