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Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining

60 images Created 2 Apr 2010

Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia.
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  • After the tops of the mountains have been blasted, the "overburden" or "spoil" is pushed into adjacent valleys to create a valley fill. Valley fills have buried an estimated 2000 miles of headwaters.
    20070330_ashville_exhibit_0004.jpg
  • Mountains in Appalachia are systematically dismantled in order to extract coal more cheaply.  This image shows a still relatively early stage in the process of Mountain Top Removal mining. Hundreds of feet of elevation will ultimately be blasted from each mountain.  Over 500 mountains have been destroyed to this point. Boone County, WV
    20091021_aerial_0080.jpg
  • View of the Spruce Mine in Logan County, WV  The Spruce Mine is a heavily contested site adjacent to Blair Mountain, site of the largest armed civil uprising in the US, and the place that many consider the birthplace of the efforts to unionize the coal fields. Alpha Natural Resources, Arch Coal and Natural Resource Partners have plans to mine Blair Mountain, despite years of efforts by citizens to save this historic icon.
    20101027_Blair Mountain Aerials_85.jpg
  • View of the Spruce Mine in Logan County, WV  The Spruce Mine is a heavily contested site adjacent to Blair Mountain, site of the largest armed civil uprising in the US, and the place that many consider the birthplace of the efforts to unionize the coal fields. Alpha Natural Resources, Arch Coal and Natural Resource Partners have plans to mine Blair Mountain, despite years of efforts by citizens to save this historic icon.
    20101030_Flyover-Blair,Twilight_436.jpg
  • Mining at the Twilight surface mine has completed surrounded the Jarrell Cemetery. Family members must now gain permission from, and be accompanied by a representative of, Alpha Natural Resources to visit the gravesides.
    20110601_aerial_Twilight_Brushy_Fork...jpg
  • Valley fill and smoke from a burning underground coal seam in Boone County, WV
    20121117_Aerials_182.jpg
  • Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia.
    PcB-5061.jpg
  • Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia.
    20080523_ashville_exhibit_0005.jpg
  • Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia.
    20080725_ashville_exhibit_0006.jpg
  • Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia.
    20080726_ashville_exhibit_0007.jpg
  • Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia.
    20080727_ashville_exhibit_0008.jpg
  • Maria Lambert, at home in Prenter, West Virginia. Holding jars that show the contaminated water that comes from her kitchen tap since mining began in her area. The empty jugs behind her are the containers for water that she had to get elsewhere, <br />
everyday, in order to cook for her family.
    20080905_ashville_exhibit_0009.jpg
  • Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia.
    20080905_ashville_exhibit_0010.jpg
  • Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia.
    20090302_ashville_exhibit_0013.jpg
  • Carl Mills of North Matewan, WV surveys the remains of his family’s vehicles after flooding washed away his front lawn and driveway. Residents who live beneath Mountaintop Removal sites and many scientists believe increased flooding in the coalfields is a direct result of Mountain Top Removal coal mining.
    20090512_ashville_exhibit_0014.jpg
  • Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia.
    20070330_ashville_exhibit_0002.jpg
  • Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia.
    20090618_dragline_14_0189-2.jpg
  • Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia.
    20090618_dragline_14_0260.jpg
  • Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia.
    20090618_dragline_14_0282.jpg
  • Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia.
    20070330_ashville_exhibit_0003.jpg
  • Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia.
    20090623_massey_protest_0737.jpg
  • A settlement pond at a MTR mining operation <br />
near Cabin Creek, West Virginia. Studies have shown that the water pollution <br />
as a result of MTR is pervasive, cumulative and irreversible.
    20090701_Cabin Creek_1.jpg
  • Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia.
    20090701_owen_stout_0013.jpg
  • Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia.
    20091023_aerial_0106.jpg
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  • A mountaintop removal site in southern <br />
West Virginia, in or near Boone County.
    20091023_MTR Autumn Aerial_0012.jpg
  • A mountaintop removal site in southern <br />
West Virginia, in or near Boone County.
    20091023_MTR Autumn Aerial_0020.jpg
  • The Twilight surface mine looms above what was once the quiet, close-knit community of Lindytown. In order to expand operations, Massey Energy (now owned by Alpha Natural resources) pressured the community members to sell their homes and leave with the agreement that they wouldn't talk about the deal and that they would never return. Countless communities in Appalachia have been destroyed in this manner.
    20091023_MTR Autumn Aerial_0032.jpg
  • A mountaintop removal site in southern West Virginia, in or near Boone County.
    20091023_MTR Autumn Aerial_0040.jpg
  • A sparse stand of trees is all that remains to shield drivers from witnessing the devastation of the Hobet Surface mine, one of the largest east of the Mississippi. Biologists have stated that the selenium pollution from Hobet Mining’s operations have left the Mud River ecosystem on "the brink of a major toxic event."<br />
Lincoln, County, WV
    20091029_hobet_0013.jpg
  • Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia.
    20091029_hobet_0201.jpg
  • One of the very large valley fills on Kayford Mountain.  Tireless "Keeper of the Mountains", Larry GIbson, fought for more than 30 years to save his family's land and stop the mining on this mountain. That piece of land (approx 50 acres) is now engulfed by an ocean of devastation from MTR.
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  • Brushy Fork Slurry Impoundment. This is merely the tip of the iceberg. This man-made pond contains an estimated nearly 7 Billion gallons of toxic slurry, a by-product of washing coal before it goes to market, which contains (among other things).mercury, chromium, lead, arsenic, Cadmium, etc. Federal investigators say that it is a matter of "when" not "if" the damn breaks. They estimate nearly 1,000 people will be killed in a matter of minutes. Raleigh County, WV. Residents fear blasting on the Bee Tree Mine could destabilize the sludge impoundment which was built by the same engineers behind the Martin County, Kentucky dam, which failed and released some 300 million gallons of coal slurry, creating a flood as wide as a football field and 6 feet deep.
    20091102_bee_tree_0199.jpg
  • Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia.
    20091102_bee_tree_0236.jpg
  • The John Amos Power plant looms in the background over the state capitol in Charleston, WV. I call it the "smoking gun and the finger that pulled the trigger" picture.  The dark "cloud" along the top of the image is pollution from the plant - it spans from horizon to horizon.  The John Amos Plant, a 2933 MW coal fired facility, is the largest utility in the AEP (American Electric Power) system.  According to AEP, the plant burns 5 million tons of coal per year. In 2003, the plant is reported to have  produced 17,650,105 tons of CO2 emissions, 114,017 of SO2 and 630 pounds of mercury.
    20091102_bee_tree_0288.jpg
  • Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia.
    20091110_coal_fields_0055.jpg
  • Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia.
    20091112_bobby_kennedy_0069.jpg
  • Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia.
    20091112_bobby_kennedy_0314.jpg
  • Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia.
    20091207_DEP_Rally_03214.jpg
  • Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia.
    20091207_DEP_Rally_03419.jpg
  • Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia.
    20091210_hobet_21_0208-2.jpg
  • Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia.
    20091210_hobet_21_0224.jpg
  • View of the Spruce Mine in Logan County, WV  The Spruce Mine is a heavily contested site adjacent to Blair Mountain, site of the largest armed civil uprising in the US, and the place that many consider the birthplace of the efforts to unionize the coal fields. Alpha Natural Resources, Arch Coal and Natural Resource Partners have plans to mine Blair Mountain, despite years of efforts by citizens to save this historic icon.
    20101027_Blair Mountain Aerials_186.jpg
  • Smoke from burning trees fills the valleys of the Coal River area in Boone County, WV.
    20101030_Flyover-Blair,Twilight_451.jpg
  • The retired dragline at the Twilight MTR Surface Mine, a surface operation utilizing mountaintop removal practices in Boone County, WV, owned by Massey Energy (now Alpha Natural Resources). It is part of the Progress Energy Complex.
    20101030_flyover_243.jpg
  • The Twilight MTR Surface Mine, a surface operation utilizing mountaintop removal practices in Boone County, WV, owned by Massey Energy (now Alpha Natural Resources). It is part of the Progress Energy Complex. Plans to expand the operation forced the relocation of the residents in the adjacent community of Lindytown, WV.
    20101119_aerials_127.jpg
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  • Mountaintop Removal mining operation in or near Boone County, WV.
    20110105_Aerial_80.jpg
  • Bee Tree Mine on Coal River Mountain formerly owned by Massey Energy and now operated by Alpha Natural Resources.  Residents fear blasting on the Bee Tree Mine could destabilize the nearby 7 billion-gallon Brushy Fork coal sludge impoundment which was built by the same engineers behind the Martin County, Kentucky dam, which failed and released some 300 million gallons of coal slurry, creating a flood as wide as a football field and 6 feet deep.
    20110601_aerial_Twilight_Brushy_Fork...jpg
  • Sunset and a passing summer storm over the Jarrell Cemetery (the "crown" of trees in the center of the photo). Mining at the Twilight surface mine has completed surrounded the Jarrell Cemetery. Family members must now gain permission from, and be accompanied by a representative of, Alpha Natural Resources to visit the gravesides. Boone County, WV.
    20110808_Aerial_350.jpg
  • A Mountaintop Removal mine site and its accompanying valley fill hovers over a resident's home in Fayette County, WV.  This site is operated by  Frasure Creek Mining LLC which was sued in 2010 by four environmental groups for violations regarding their MTR in Kentucky. They were accused of committing over 20,000 water discharge violations and fraud for falsifying reports.
    20120124_Frazure Creek_17.jpg
  • Passing summer storm over the Jarrell Cemetery. Mining at the Twilight surface mine has completed surrounded the Jarrell Cemetery. Family members must now gain permission from, and be accompanied by a representative of, Alpha Natural Resources to visit the gravesides. Boone County, WV.
    20120604_Twilight_269.jpg
  • A burning underground coal seam<br />
sparked a forest fire that burned more than a square mile in Boone County, WV. The Twilight surface mine is shown in the background along with the Jarrell Cemetery (upper left) and the area that was once Lindytown, WV (center right in photo).
    20121117_Aerials_148.jpg
  • Actress Daryl Hannah is arrested June 23, 2009 in an anti MTR rally near Whitesville, WV. Celebrity involvement in civil disobedience actions attracts much needed attention for an issue of global importance, of which alarmingly little is known. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia.
    brown_paul_12.jpg
  • Hillary Hosta is arrested during a peaceful rally at the WV state capitol. Citizens demanded Governor Joe Manchin honor his word to provide a safe school for the children of Marsh Fork, WV.  The school sits below several billion gallons of toxic coal slurry, held only by an earth dam. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia. Images from West Virginia and the devastating practice of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Covering the aspects of destruction of the land, violation of humanity and the irreversible contamination of the water of Appalachia.
    brown_paul_20.jpg
  • (Sept 3, 2008) A valley fill near the Boone and Raleigh County line, WV
    PcB-3189.jpg
  • September 3, 2008. Valley Fill at Kayford Mountain. A cloud of dust moves off the mine site to settle on the community of Dorthy, WV. Recent scientific studies suggest the dust from MTR sites causes significant health problems for people in the surrounding areas.
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  • Chilhood asthma is one of the many harmful health effects attributed coal fired power plant emissions. <br />
From Pat Moore: "My granddaughter's next breath is more precious than Duke Energy's profit." <br />
<br />
From Kate Moore: "Coal isn't cool. I can't imagine a life without an inhaler."
    20121007_RAN Energy and Finance_68.jpg
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