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Paddlers all know that WV has great rivers. The Cheat River has seven free flowing tributaries and many whitewater sections, including the famous Cheat River Canyon where the downriver Nationals were just held. Once a year, in May, boaters and environmentalists from all over the region converge at the Cheat Fest to celebrate the progress we've made in restoring the Cheat and her tributaries to their former wild glory. There are bands and activities and educational booths and a general feeling of joy in the air, each year, when the festival happens beside the Cheat River.

What happened to the Cheat? Coal mining happened. The coal of the region is embedded in sulfur rich rock that causes Acid Mine Drainage to spill into streams and kill all the fish. It takes very careful management to prevent spills and remediate acid leaks where they do occur. Thanks to Friends of the Cheat, this has happened. Friends of the Cheat has taken a gentle but active approach to building consensus among all those who hold a stake in having clean water and healthy fish in the Cheat. They deserve many congratulations for work well done.

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http://offgridsurvival.com/livingoffthegridcrime/

There are lots of stories here of self sufficient people getting run off their land for weak reasons. All over the US you can get in trouble for having a homestead that looks junky. It has happened to friends of mine. Bill had to get rid of his volkswagon collection because the neighbors supposedly thought it was an eyesore. He could have supplied his community with running vehicles for generations to come from that collection, but it is gone. It seems to me that we can allow self sufficient and creative people to collect materials for their projects on their land. If there really is a visual issue some kind of fencing or green living screen could be required. And whatever laws about decency we agree to, multinational corporations must also obey. Perhaps it would be useful to define quality of life--not for the individual, but for all humans, so that we could begin with a reasonable basis for such decisions. We don't just want life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, we want clean air, fresh water, whole food, quiet and space to pursue our missions in life... The link is a pretty impassioned statement from a few outliers who get hassled by authorities.

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