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National Geographic : 1973 Jun
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This, too, I learned from the ingenious Dorsey Williams: A nylon rattail comb, suit ably whittled and scraped, makes an ex ceedingly fine dulcimer pick. Scars Blight a Lovely Landscape Those early cries of socialism are seldom heard in the valley now, but TVA faces criticism on another front. Environmentalists feel that the nation's largest coal consumer is doing far too little to prevent strip miners from leaving ugly gashes on the land. With environmentalist Grimes Slaughter, a physicist from the Oak Ridge National Lab oratory, I flew over the strip-mined area northwest of Knoxville (pages 852-3). It was a disheartening sight from the air. Grimes pointed out despoiled ridge after despoiled ridge. "As long as those miners can rape the land and get away with it," he said, "this is the way it's going to be." He pointed out that TVA's contracts with strip miners have clauses requiring that the pits be reclaimed. "But there's not much reclaiming going on down there," he noted. The day after our dismal flight, I looked up a fellow journalist in Knoxville, Lee Shep peard, TVA reports editor. "We're catching a lot of flak for buying strip-mine coal," Lee told me. "But we're really doing our best to correct the situation, tightening enforcement of our contracts and working on new reclamation techniques." He leaned back with a thoughtful frown. "Part of the problem is that, in 1965, when we began putting mandatory reclamation clauses in our contracts, people expected instant results. Well, results come slowly at first in a massive operation like this." He gave me a wry grin. "In forty years we've made a lot of friends in this valley, so this new role of villain really hurts. Our job is to upgrade the valley-not destroy it!" Next day I drove the valley of the Tennes see toward Chattanooga. If someday you drive that road on a beautiful spring morn ing, be wiser than I. Turn off the air condition er. Open the car windows. Drive slowly, for Chopping corn for winter feed, Mr. Hubbs pulls a harvester over his fields. The young farmer had soils tested and applied recommended fertilizer, dramatically increasing his yields. Now his land, a demonstration farm, serves neighbors as an open-air classroom. Whatever Happened to TVA? 847
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