Rhetorical Precis #2

Jim Motavalli in E-The Environmental Magazine; Nov/Dec2007, vol. 18 Issue 6, p34-39, 6p discusses the effect of coal mining and mountaintop removal on the landscape, environment, and people of the Kayford Mountains of Western Virginia. He supports his argument by stating that the green mountains have been replaced by bare, flat, and terraced plateaus and only 50 acres owned by Larry Gibson are left; he informs that elevation is not included in the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act and all students in the Marsh Fork Elementary School are having traces of black dust;also discussed are the various lawsuits and legislations for and against coal mining in the region. His purpose is to convey that it isn't just the land that is destroyed by MTR, there is a tremendous human toll, as drinking water is polluted, housing foundations cracked, and roads potholed by overloaded coal trucks; he shares various stories of residents of the Kayford Mountains and how MTR has destroyed not only their lives but the beautiful mountains that they once called home. He writes to anyone interested in knowing more about MTR and its devastating effects and how it affects the people involved.