Questions

While staying the night in Berea, the gateway to Appalachia, we've begun to mull over some questions that have occurred to us during our trip through the mountains. While riding, we've had both familiar and unfamiliar experiences, seen both familiar and unfamiliar landscapes. We've wondered about the flora we've seen, the people we've talked to, the crops growing along the roadside, and (more than anything) the ubiquitous signs of coal mining we've encountered around ever turn. So, we offer a list of questions that we have pondered, but to which we have yet to find the answers. Here they are:

1. How is coal extracted, processed, and delivered?

2. How much of the working population of Coal Country works in the coal industry? How has this changed over the years?

3. Who runs the mining operations, and where are they from? What percentage of coal money returns to the counties in which the coal was extracted?

4. What is the prevalence of emphysema, lung cancer, other mining-related diseases? What is the cost of this to the communities, especially considering the aging populations in these areas? How has water quality, road stability, population distribution changed since mining began?

5. How different is the flora of eastern/central Kentucky from that of North Carolina? What about the landscape? We had the distinct impression yesterday that we were riding through central NC.

6. In general, how does the flora change east to west across the mountains? (For example, we have seen fewer ferns since leaving the NC area.)

7. When did dollar generals become the norm in small rural communities? Did they replace general stores? How has access to fresh produce changes over the last few decades? How has the food people eat changed and to what extent are people eating what they want to be eating? How has the cost of that food changed?

8. Can you accurately predict a driver's behavior based on car make, model, and color?

9. What is the range of religious beliefs in Appalachia? How does this intersect with everyday life/social gatherings, etc? What are the differences between different types of Baptist churches (ex. Free will vs. Traditional)?

10. How can we make Sonja's hair behave in any consistent or predictable manner? What more bits need to be chopped to make it fully presentable?

11. What are the most prevalent crops grown in Appalachia, and how do those change through NC, VA, and KY?

Of course, we have other questions too! But we think that's enough for now.