The Charlston Gazette shares with us the news that birth defects are apparently higher in arweas where there's been 'Mountain Top Removal', or MTR, mining (and yes, if you're not familiar with MTR methods, that's a process as brutal and dramatic as it at first sounds). This link takes you to the relevant article:
http://wvgazette.com/News/201106211246

But wait - what's this? apparently it's not the MTR that's the problem, it's the INBREEDING! Heck, why didn't we think of that? Thanks to MoJo (MotherJones) for illuminating the National Mining Association's rebuttal of the findings, penned by attorneys Crowell and Moring.  This pinned the cause of the problems on 'consanquinuity' (that's inbreeding to you and me, though apparently the esteemed lawyers couldn't even spell the word properly in their missive - on account of being so ill-acquainted with it, natch). http://motherjones.com/blue-marble/2011/07/mountaintop-removal-inbreeding-coal-mining

Grist tells us that in a mealymouthed apology - which looks more like an apology for an apology - CM stated that they didn't mean anything by the implication that the locals suffered a higher-than-average incidence of consanguinuity. And of course, the locals of West Virginia shouldn't be irked by it.

But I'll bet they are....http://www.grist.org/list
Tweet