Mountaintop Removal Mining, Charleston, WV

This video clip highlights the destructive process of strip mining of Appalachian mountains near Charleston, WV. Once mountains are blasted with dynamite to access the coal, they are destroyed forever. These mountain ranges are among the oldest geological formations that exist on our planet (480 million years old) and are one of the most biologically diverse regions in the temperate world.

But there's more. Mountaintop mining removal not only destroys the mountains, but also the lives of the people who live there. Residents next to these operations live with destroyed habitat and noise. Coal dust from blasting and coal processing operations and contaminated water from valley fills and coal slurry injections into the ground causes respiratory disease, kidney and gall bladder failure, and cancer. They live with constant fear that a coal slurry impoundment might break, causing death and destruction on a massive scale.

The flyover was provided by SouthWings (www.southwings.org) and depicts Kayford Mountain, a 1,200-acre mountaintop removal mine operation; Marsh Fork Elementary School, located just 150 feet from a coal loading silo and 400 yards from a 2.8 billion gallon toxic waste impoundment; and the town of Sylvester, a community whose health and property has been adversely affected by pervasive black coal dust from an adjacent mountaintop removal mining operation.

Aerial footage was taken during an Eco-Justice Collaborative June, 2009 delegation to Charleston, WV. Visit www.ecojusticecollaborative.org for more information.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• mountaintop removal
• kayford mountain
• brushy fork impoundment
• sylvester
• WV
• ecojustice collaborative
• ejc

[MockeryMadeEasy]

You have bought in to coal propaganda (lies) and you think everything is ok. I'm done wasting time discussing this with you, because people like you don't understand facts. You simply can not blow a mountain apart, spread it around and expect the resulting area to be healthy. Its impossible. Such a claim is stupid and beyond rational. I can list 12 chemicals and metals that end up exposed and then leak into the water table. But you don't care, so I'm no longer going to waste my time with this.

[mountainpbp]

Show me ONE place where mountaintop removal reclamation, over any span of time, has developed into an eco-system even HALF as diverse and life-sustaining as what was there before.

The Appalachian Mountain forests are the second most biodiverse in the world. Stripping them of thousands of species of plant and animal life and then coming back to sprinkle a handful of randrom exotic seeds and tossing a few elk onto the land is NOT a viable substitute for natural native foliage and wildlife.

[dakotabrookelee]

People that aren't from WV.... Just wait until they find coal in your states and coal mining keeps your family alive. It's called ELECTRICITY. Until then, shut the fuck up.

[Levisnteeshirt1]

@mountainpbp not all of them have coal in them pal ,,, plenty left for your ,, ecosystem ,, which you most likely don't really give a shit about anyway ,, your just blowing your horn and you want somebody to listen too ,, the airplane your flying in ,, was most likely to have been made out of steel , at least parts of the engine are ,, so think about coal the next time your flying in a plane , in a building , in your car , or in a hospital ,, dumbass ,, hospitals aren't in Tee Pee's ,.,, idiot

[Levisnteeshirt1]

@mountainpbp not all of them have coal in them pal ,,, plenty left for your ,, ecosystem ,, which you most likely don't really give a shit about anyway ,, your just blowing your horn and you want somebody to listen too

[SereneiBE]

@ohiomedigrower Heres a list.

Mucury, copper, dust, arsenic, chromium, cadmium, selenium, nickle, thorium,uranium,fly ash, bottom ash, flue gas desulfurization. sulfur,

Amoung other things, In the process of mountain top removal, coal waste is oftentimes DUMPED right into the natural valleys and waterstreams. a total of 2000+ miles of streems and rivers have been wrecked cause of this.

[SereneiBE]

Nature is very beautiful, already 800 square miles of the Appalachian mountains have had their tops blown up. This is a national shame and shouldn't be tolerated in our country. I understand we still need coal for the time being until renewable energy becomes 100% of our energy usage, but there are better ways to mine. We do not need to blow up mountains to get the coal. Mountain Top Removal only supplies 5% of our coal, yet it is extremely destructive to nature and near by communities.

[SereneiBE]

I live in San Fransisco, ive visited many many natural places around the country, Alaska, forests around the east coast, California.

I believe we need to ban mountain top removal.

There however is still the issue with the polution from burning it. it kills over 13 thousand Americans every day. the CO2 released from burning it still causes problems such as higher acidic oceans, Coral bleaching. Result in depleting fish and marine life.

[jerdew]

@mountainpbp message me and come to charleston I can show you land where deer, bear, pheasants, turkey etc... now roam and thrive and did not in the prior to the strip mining and reclamation. One area near Rush Creek right before Marmet even has on the back side of it a Bird Sanctuary where even quail have been stocked and thrive. One gentleman bought part of the reclaimed land and raises birds just for shooting fun.

[starmanskye]

@MockeryMadeEasy -- Right on Man; This is the epitome of drastically-stooopid short-term idiocy, did I also say creatively bludgeoned, irrational, ridiculously uninformed & irresponsible? Madness personified & on steroids.

[ohiomedigrower]

@sasktank what in the billions of gallons of coal waste

[jfkr77]

u ass holes are killing the planet for your own faimly