mountaintop removal
July 26, 2018 -
Vernon Haltom of West Virginia's Coal River Mountain Watch was among those who testified about coal's future before a congressional subcommittee this week. The testimony of Haltom — whose group is working to end mountaintop removal mining in Appalachia — details what boosting coal means for the communities where it's extracted.
June 12, 2015 -
Born into a renowned Kentucky ballad-singing family, Ritchie went on to earn fame for preserving old songs and composing original tunes protesting the destructiveness of coal mining. She died earlier this month at age 92.
April 22, 2015 -
The Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation has launched a "Southern Voices" oral history project to capture the stories of Southern leaders working for social and economic justice. This special Earth Day installment focuses on environmental justice.
March 11, 2014 -
Before its coal-fired units were shuttered in 2012, Duke Energy's Dan River plant burned coal from mountaintop removal mines in Appalachia. The reality that the arsenic-laden ash now contaminating a North Carolina river was once a forested mountain peak highlights the destructive lifecycle of coal.
September 13, 2013 -
A group of prominent Democrats has launched a project to promote the idea that coal is part of a sustainable U.S. energy future -- even as new evidence emerges showing just how environmentally destructive coal really is.
May 10, 2013 -
Activists hauled polluted water from Appalachia to Washington, D.C. this week to draw attention to the plight of communities affected by mountaintop removal coal mining. The action comes as legislation was reintroduced in Congress to protect coalfield waterways.
May 2, 2013 -
The United Nations Working Group on Business and Human Rights recently visited West Virginia communities affected by the controversial mining practice and said allegations of health damage, water pollution, failure to protect cemeteries, and harassment of opponents should be investigated and addressed.
