During the last two decades, mountaintop removal mining in Appalachia has destroyed or severely damaged more than a million acres of forest and buried nearly 2,000 miles of streams. Leveling Appalachia: The Legacy of Mountaintop Removal Mining, a video report produced by Yale Environment 360 in collaboration with MediaStorm, focuses on the environmental and social impacts of this practice and examines the long-term effects on the region’s forests and waterways.
At a time when the Obama administration is reviewing mining permit applications throughout West Virginia and three other states, this video offers a first-hand look at mountaintop removal and what is at stake for Appalachia’s environment and its people.
Related Articles
More From E360
-
Opinion
A Highway Megaproject Tears at the Heart of New Guinea’s Rainforest
-
Crisis on the Colorado: Part I
The West’s Great River Hits Its Limits: Will the Colorado Run Dry?
-
Oceans
As Disease Ravages Coral Reefs, Scientists Scramble for Solutions
-
Cities
In India’s Fast-Growing Cities, a Grassroots Effort to Save the Trees
-
Analysis
How China’s Big Overseas Initiative Threatens Global Climate Progress
-
Water
In India, Nature’s Power Overwhelms Engineered Wetlands
-
Biodiversity
As Polar Bear Attacks Increase in Warming Arctic, a Search for Solutions
-
Energy
Carbon Crossroads: Can Germany Revive Its Stalled Energy Transition?
-
Climate
Can Artificial Intelligence Help Build Better, Smarter Climate Models?
-
Interview
Coastal Warning: An Unwelcome Messenger on the Risks of Rising Seas
-
Biodiversity
Sparing vs Sharing: The Great Debate Over How to Protect Nature
-
Cities
From High Above, A New Way of Seeing Our Urban Planet