'Coal Country'

Passions are running high in the mountains of Appalachia. Families and communities are deeply split over what is being done to the land of West Virginia by Big Coal, the coal mining corporations now practicing mountain top removal. This is the latest form of strip mining where coal companies blast the tops off mountains and run the debris into valleys and streams. Appalachian streams feed the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. So these waters, too, are being poisoned by West Virginia mining operations. After getting the coal from the exposed seams of coal after blasting off a mountain top, the coal companies transport it to processing plants. Using mountain top removal and completely disregarding the waste products of mining coal, coal is mined more cheaply than ever, and so America is still heavily dependent on coal just as it is on cheap oil. Coal is the source for half of America's energy. But the air and water are filled with chemicals and an ancient mountain range is disappearing forever. Wheelchair accessible around the corner at 411 28th Street.

Discussion follows.