The Aspen Institute

Coal Country is a dramatic look at the struggle that is modern coal mining. Passions are running high in the mountains of Appalachia. Families and communities are deeply split over what is being done to their land. At issue is the latest form of strip mining: mountaintop removal. Coal companies blast the tops off mountains, and run the debris into valleys and streams. Families have lived in the region for generations, and most have ancestors who worked in the mines. The promises of “cheap energy” and “clean coal” are coming at a cost to the land and the people of Appalachia.

Free and open to everyone.