Letters

The Vanishing Appalachians

My only beef with Kevin Williamson’s moving Appalachian elegy (“Left Behind,” December 16) is the treatment of the coal industry, which he just briefly describes as a “bulwark against utter economic ruin.” Williamson suggests that one reason for the impoverishment of Owsley County, Ky., the poorest county in America, is the drift of workers closer to coal operations. This would suggest that mining towns are little islands of relative prosperity and happiness, but, in reality, some of the starkest poverty in Appalachia and a disproportionate level of negative health effects are closely associated with areas where mountaintop-removal mining is taking place. Some studies suggest that coal production is actually a net economic burden rather than a boon for Appalachia, and communities near mining sites report some of the lowest scores in the multi-factor Gallup/Healthways Well-Being Index.