Mountaintop Removal: An American Tragedy

Narrated by Susan Sarandon, this video shows firsthand footage of mountaintop removal coal mining and its impacts on Appalachian mountains, drinking water and families. Mountaintop removal is a mining practice where explosives are used to blast the tops off mountains to expose the thin seams of coal beneath. Once blasted, earth and coal dust from the mountaintop is dumped into neighboring valleys and waterways. Hundreds of mountaintops have been lost forever to MTR, and according to a 2005 environmental impact statement, nearly 2,000 miles of Appalachian streams have already been buried or contaminated by the devastating mining practice. Take action today and tell banks to stop financing this American tragedy at http://ran.org/mtrbanks

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• mountaintop removal
• MTR
• coal
• mining
• Appalachia
• mountains
• Susan Sarandon
• Sherry Geisler
• Ernie Thompson
• Donetta Blankenship
• Anita Miller
• pollution
• explosion
• dynamite
• greenhouse
• Coal River
• West Virginia
• Kayford Mountain
• arsenic
• chromium
• mercury
• lead
• selenium
• cancer
• liver disease
• kidney disease
• energy
• celebrity
• environment
• Rainforest Action Network
• RAN
• Citi
• PNC
• UBS
• Deutsche Bank
• Josef Ackermann
• Oswald Gruebel
• Denise Knox
• Pamela Flaherty

[hebintn]

This short video zeros in on the major points of the problem. Unlike coal from places flatlands like Wyoming the Appalachian mountains destroyed by surface mining can NEVER be returned to the beauty that they once were and the water sheds are polluted forever. The economy of the region has suffered. Dollars are taken out by big coal, nothing is returned, and the mountains that have such rich heritage are reduced to rubble. Until fossil fuel is replaced we must develop clean alternatives.

[jayjaywalker3]

Amazing video.

[virgor19]

@titansteelminer I've met people from the appalachians that are absolutely against this. They've been driven out of their own homes. The ones who stay risk their lives fighting. In WV in the 50s there were at least 125,000 jobs in mining, now around 16,000. It was cut by more than 50% due to MTR! Appalachia are also some of the poorest people in the nation even though some of the most money is coming out of there. That's because the corporations take it all and dont give back!!

[crazedNdiffused]

@titansteelminer They kill more birds that the jets they want to ban. lmao

[crazedNdiffused]

America's mountains. America;s drinking water. America's families?

HEY! That example of America's families had no dad. lmao.

You silly lefties. When we have no energy and regress you won't survive the trials without a dad or husband. There won't be welfare, grants and preferences. Better get that trans gender op now while other people can still pay for it.

[titansteelminer]

The proposed windmills are huge. How do you place them high up in rugged mountain terrain without carving large roads? Your naivete is what is astounding.

Poverty, unemployement and drug abuse already run rampant in the Appalachians.

Would you make that worse by taking the mining and related jobs. If you do not live in the Appalachians, please keep your biased opinions to yourself.

[OregonLover59]

Mountains channel wind and windmills attached to dynamos can generate electricity without destroying the landscape and the people on it. If placed in a hollow, the mountains actually increase the windspeed which increases the energy production potential of an electric generator windmill. It's simple meteorology and physics. Without the mountains however, you lose that capacity forever. 93% of all coal is still mined without mountaintop removal.

[josephdupont]

I agree that this is bad. but not because it only represents 7 percent of our coal!!!!

That concept, Susan is stupid!!! dumb.. Would it matter if it was 100% OF OUR COAL. wOULD THAT BE OK THEN??

[eragonbookworm]

this is so sad were destroying our planet...