Last edited Fri Mar 21, 2014, 08:19 PM - Edit history (1)
... they really wouldn't be able to provide much knowledge regarding the waterways of their own area -- e.g., which creeks flow into what rivers, the difference between upstream and downstream, etc. I discovered during the time of the WV spill, for instance, that although many folks understood that the Elk River is a tributary of the Kanawha, they had no idea that the Kanawha actually flows NW into the Ohio. So the impact area of the spill would have been downstream from the spill and in this case this meant the chemicals were actually flowing northwards towards the Ohio River. Many folks mistakenly equate downstream with "southward" and "upstream" as "northward". In any case, this forum provides us with a good opportunity to educate. 
My concern with all the recent spills has been the long-term impact of these chemicals upon the environment. The leaching into soils, the absorption of toxins into trees, the poisoning of life at the bottom of the food chain, which will eventually work its way up the ladder to affect all wildlife, including birds and insects. And it hasn't been that long that we've had environmental regulations of any kind. So to imagine just how much crap our Appalachian environment has had to absorb, decade after decade. Little wonder that people living in mining areas have such health problems, even from childhood.
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