For more about this film, check this website. This is an issue that is incredibly controversial throughout Appalachia, and there aren't easy answers. But one of the first steps is taking a closer look at the effects of these extraction processes, and listening to the people whose livelihoods and ways of life are affected. Yes, coal mining is about jobs, but it's also about clean water, public health, and the clash between local communities and mining companies. A larger part of the issue is the fact that coal is used widely throughout the US, but the costs of coal production aren't always considered--or even imagined--but the people who use it to power their daily lives. Often, when we take "costs" into account, we are really only looking at a highly reductive version of reality. Costs are about more than just what shows up on ledgers.
2 comments:
Thank you for the links for this film. I'd heard about it. I find this shocking....somewhat ironic that this coal could be called clean when its extraction has appalling after effects for the local region. Yes, I do realise that it provides for the local inhabitants of West Virginia but I suspect that many worldwide really have no idea what's happening in the Appalachians..which are in themselves an incredible part of the world.
Thanks for the comment Anthea. There are some good films about this issue. Last weekend I just saw one called "Deep Down" that was really well done, and there is another called "Sludge" that's good too. Good in an informative kind of way at least. Some links:
http://appalshop.org/sludge/
http://www.deepdownfilm.org/
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