MORGANTOWN — Junior Walk attended Marsh Fork Elementary School under the shadow of a slurry dam. After he graduated from high school, he struggled to find a career other than coal mining — just like many others in his community.

On Friday, the 21-year-old Eunice native and Coal River Mountain Watch employee traveled to the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership (HOBY) Seminar in Morgantown to join energy industry representatives and an environmental consultant in debating the future of energy in West Virginia.

“I thought it would be a good opportunity to talk to the youth of West Virginia who are going to be controlling this state within the next generation,” said Walk. “I decided to dedicate my life to fighting mountaintop removal because I see what it’s done to my community and the people who live there.”

The energy panel included Bob Barker, nuclear power engineer for Westinghouse Electric Company; Corky DeMarco of the West Virginia Oil and Gas Association; Bill Raney of the West Virginia Coal Association; and Rory McIlmoil of Downstream Strategies environmental consultants. Each weighed in on the pros and cons of energy options.

HOBY participants, all rising juniors in high school, sparked the debate, asking pressing questions about safety, economics, and environmental and health impacts. The HOBY Seminar is a four-day program that draws over 130 young “Ambassadors” annually from across West Virginia to develop a range of leadership skills.

“Our big philosophy of the whole week is to teach people how to think, not what to think,” explained Executive Director of Programming Ryan Boyd.

The energy forum, a yearly tradition, stands out as one of the youths’ favorite parts of the Seminar, according to Boyd.

“They deal with it (energy issues) every day,” he said. “Here they have a chance to listen to some of the industry leaders. Our hope is that they are able to look at all the parts of an issue and form their own opinion.”

Walk shared his perspectives based on his personal experience of the coal industry.

He described a life surrounded by coal, including his early days at Marsh Fork Elementary, just 400 yards from a slurry impoundment and 300 feet from a coal silo.

“I remember some days, you could see the coal dust coming in from all sides … into the playground. We wouldn’t have recess those days. Worrying every day that (the slurry is) going to break when it rains and kill all of us — no schoolchildren should have to worry about that.”

Walk also discussed the lack of job opportunities in his community.

“When you graduate high school, you either leave and never look back ... or you can become a coal miner or work in the coal industry in some way.”

Although he had his sights set on college after high school, Walk said he wasn’t able to follow his dreams.

“I did what everybody else does. I went to work at Massey.” He got a job as a maintenance worker.

Now, however, Walk said what scares him most is the threat to his neighbors’ health.

“You can’t go to every other house without meeting someone who has cancer ... I see that West Virginia has been made into a resource colony. I think the U.S. owes West Virginia big time for what we’ve put up with. These people have had to break their backs to supply the rest of the country.”

Representatives from the industries joined the debate about the ideal energy mix for West Virginia. Barker, of Westinghouse, lobbied for high power production and low carbon emissions from nuclear energy.

“I like to think that we provide a vital need for the production baseline — energy for the country, and at the same time, we’re very good environmental stewards,” he said. “I’d put our (Westinghouse’s) safety up against any industry in the world.”

“We are the energy future,” Barker continued, adding that he considered other energy options important as well. “These are all good and viable industries, and I’d like to think that we are part of the portfolio.”

DeMarco, executive director of West Virginia Oil and Gas Association, insisted that gas drilling is safe, despite the current swirl of concern over Marcellus shale exploration.

“We’re going to be drilling a lot of wells in West Virginia, and in an environmentally safe manner,” said DeMarco, predicting that the number of gas wells in the state will double by 2030.

“I know there’s lots of controversy about Marcellus shale, but oil and gas are key to this country when it comes to another fuel source.”

Passing out foam chunks of “coal” and Friends of Coal bracelets, Bill Raney expressed pride in representing the coal industry. He described the coal industry as a valuable source of employment and tax revenue.

“That sustains the state’s budget, in great part,” he said.

Raney also highlighted the growing trend of shipping coal out of state and out of the country.

“We’re shipping coal today across the ocean at twice the rate as before, and all West Virginians stand to benefit.”

“All of this energy policy is in your-all’s hands,” he told the HOBY students. “You’re going to have to figure out energy policy.”

Striving to place the energy options within a broader vision for the state, McIlmoil of Downstream Strategies urged the HOBY participants to think beyond “traditional” energy industries.

“First, based strictly on market trends and existing regulations — not including the new EPA guidance on mountaintop removal — official projections suggest that coal production in West Virginia will decline over 30 percent as soon as 2015,” McIlmoil said.

“Should the projections prove true … this will have a significant impact on local and state economies.” He projected a staggering 25 percent decline in tax revenue, and at least a 30 percent drop in coal-related employment.

While McIlmoil acknowledged the many jobs the coal industry has created, he questioned the long-term economic benefit.

“It is clear that the industry has historically provided little in terms of long-term economic prosperity in the coal-producing areas, which remain some of the poorest and unhealthiest in the nation,” McIlmoil said.

As for Marcellus shale drill-ing, McIlmoil expressed concern that the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection is not equipped to regulate the vast number of drilling operations.

He pointed out the advantages of solar and wind energy. “We can and must do more to protect our citizens, our miners, our health and our environment, and doing so does not mean we have to sacrifice our jobs or our economy.”

During a question and answer time, HOBY participants talked face-to-face with the panelists. Their questions prompted discussions of safety, longevity of the coal industry, ability of the natural gas industry to keep the wealth in West Virginia, and whether there’s a tradeoff between environmental impact and reliability of the energy source.

Raney addressed the problem of declining available coal reserves.

“It’s going to be tough,” he said, but pointed to studies that estimate as much as 50 billion tons of coal remaining.

“There’s plenty of coal left; it’s just more difficult to get out, difficult to mine. It’s going to be challenging, but we’re mining coal today that people didn’t think we could mine,” he said.

When a HOBY student from McDowell County asked if Raney had suggestions to avoid the economic hits communities take during boom and bust cycles, Raney emphasized economic diversification.

“We need the diversification of the economy as well — and use the fact that we can mine coal… While we’re doing that and people are making money, we need to seek out other businesses and sustain that as we move forward.”

Barker agreed.

“That is the very reason for debating energy portfolios,” he said. “You don’t put all your eggs in one basket. The only security you have is for future diversification.”

However, Barker added an extra twist to a future vision for energy: He called on the youth to help regulate the industries, likening the industries to his cousin’s dog that got into some ham and ate itself sick.

“The industry is those dogs… it’s your job to make sure we don’t eat all the ham and get sick,” Barker said. “We are here to make money …. You are the public — keep an eye on us.”

Walk said this kind of debate is important to restoring self-reliance to West Virginia communities.

“I think it’s always a good idea to have open dialogue,” he said, adding, “I would like to see the coal industry come and talk to people like me who are affected, in the places where they are from.”

Walk’s ultimate vision for his state?

“I’d like to see people be more self-reliant … not have to rely on big industry to support themselves and families.”

“I don’t want to see anybody without a job,” he added. Walk acknowledged that coal contributes to the state budget, but he also pointed to a 2009 study by WVU researcher Michael Hendryx, which concluded that the monetary cost of coal mining — in terms of premature deaths — actually outweighs the economic benefit.

Walk said he hoped “whenever our generation gains control of this state, that things will run a lot differently — that outside corporations won’t be controlling everything and making big bucks off of hard-working West Virginians.”

“It takes a young person with vision to step back and look at the problems we have, and I think that’s the kind of crowd we have today.”