Awesome Thread!! i love it!! Like taking a trip and never leaving the farm. ;D
This is more about my state (West Virginia) because we are very rural.
The beautiful:
Mountaineer football/basketball, Majestic Mountains, valleys, clean air and water, and Bluegrass music. All recreation outside including rock climbing, World class whitewater, Mountain biking, Caving. You name it. We are the head waters for the drinking water for the South Eastern US. Birth place of Don Knotts, Jerry West, Soupy Sales, Chuck Yeager, and Homer Hickum.
The Big Sandy is Practically in my back yard. I've spent many year kayaking this world class creek (cool video if you get the chance)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwTgpo43plw
New River Gorge Bridge. It is hardto tell scale but there are 18 wheelers on the bridge.
This is a disappearing scene, read on...
The UGLY: (this is not going to be good)
Poverty, Obesity, Political corruption, unemplyment, Mountain Top Removal (MTR). In 1950 there were 150,000 coal miners employed in WV, now coal is mined using MTR practices. Mountains are blown up (thousands of sq miles) and the coal is removed using large machines. The mountains are then pushed into the valleys. Thousands of sq miles look like the the moon. Waste fills and polutes the streams and rivers. Did I mention unemployment? There are now 20,076 employed miners compaired to the 1950 numbers.
More than 500 mountains are now flattened and over 1000 miles of streams have been buried. Billions of gallons of toxic coal slurry waste is held in earth impoundments at the head waters of many streams.
If you live in the South Eastern US and want to know what is in, or about to enter your drinking water, watch the video below. What's not in it yet soon will be because some of the toxic impoundments are leaking high levels of arsenic and mercury to name a few.
Corruption: John Grishim based his book
The Appeal on Massey Energy (MTR company) buying its own Supreme Court Judge etc...
Mountain Top Removal
For scale there is one of the worlds largest draglines in the far right hand side near the top
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPixjCneseE
More info: A documentary is now running on Planet Green here: http://www.coalcountrythemovie.com/trailer_page.html
If you want more info google: Massey Energy, Don Blankenship, Mountain Top Removal. That will get you started and you can judge for yourself.