West Virginia’s Third World Dilemma

As a former West Virginian, I was thrilled to read Peter Slavin’s excellent article about Massey Energy Co.’s continuing devastation of West Virginia’s mountains and its harassment of the citizens of the Big Coal River Valley (“Razing Appalachia,” May 5). I am especially proud of Judy Bonds and other Coal River Mountain Watch folks who are fighting Massey’s destruction of people’s health and homes. The plight of West Virginia is no different from that of a Third World country that is exploited and polluted by outside interests.

Lisa Kelly

Los Angeles