'From the Ashes' examines coal's environmental devastation

[AndreaJames]

Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2017/06/22/from-the-ashes-examines-co.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynN39sfqT8w

As the Trump Administration works to take America back to the coal age, From the Ashes takes an unflinching look at the industry's profound effect on the environment, with a focus on Appalachia.

The documentary premieres on June 25. From their website:

From the Ashes captures Americans in communities across the country as they wrestle with the legacy of the coal industry and what its future should be in the current political climate. From Appalachia to the West’s Powder River Basin, the film goes beyond the rhetoric of the “war on coal” to present compelling and often heartbreaking stories about what’s at stake for our economy, health, and climate.

In a story that’s sadly familiar, poor and working-class families are paying the price for corporate greed. Families who have relied on well water for centuries now have to ship in bottled water because the water in their backyards is unsafe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74yhlpQntkc

You will be equal parts enraged and sad by the end. To help America move to renewables, please consider joining Sierra Club's Beyond Coal project.

• From the Ashes website (via RadicalMedia)

• Coal Mining's Environmental Impact (YouTube / National Geographic)

[anon61833566]

I really do not understand where they get anyone that thinks bringing back more coal jobs is a good idea.

[Shuck]

The irony is they’re not even doing that. They’re bringing back the era of higher coal profits, they’re bringing back the era of rampant coal pollution (which also increases profits by reducing costs). At best, jobs stay the same. At worst, not having to worry about environmental devastation means more mountaintop removal mining, and that’s mostly automated, so that means fewer jobs.
Meanwhile the end of coal remains a near-future certainty, given that solar is already providing electricity at literally less than half the cost. So what happens to a polluted region when the primary economic activity goes away? Who wants to relocate an industry to an area where you can’t even drink the water? How are you going to do environmental clean-up with no tax base? They’ve guaranteed the region has no future.

[anon75430791]

Indeed. Cracks me up every time I drive through WV. The view of the “Welcome to WV” sign has a backdrop of a mountain top with a bunch of abandoned (and some burnt out) houses, shacks, trailers.

You just can’t make this stuff up.

[Papasan]

Clean Coal…