Coal River Mountain Watch

Mountaintop removal in articles and books

In 2005, mountaintop removal was number 10 on Project Censored’s list of under-reported stories. Hopefully the primetime national news media will pick up on the story from a flurry of recent articles, including a major article in the March issue of National Geographic. This 20-page article includes information provided by CRMW; quotes from Judy Bonds, Pauline Canterberry, Larry Gibson, and Vivian Stockman; photos of MTR sites and sludge-poisoned well water; information about sludge dams, sludge injection, and Sylvester’s battle with coal dust; and a paragraph about Marsh Fork Elementary. All in all, a well done article that broadly covers MTR.

Add this to articles in Waterkeeper magazine (one issue devoted to coal and an upcoming issue dedicated to MTR), Christian Science Monitor, E Magazine, Harper’s, and Orion. The lengthy articles, with great photos of people and places, in Harper’s and Orion were written by Erik Reece, whose new book Lost Mountain chronicles the year he spent observing the destruction of Lost Mountain in Kentucky.

Also, Marsh Fork Elementary made the cover story in the March issue of the American School Board Journal, and another article about MTR coming soon in Vanity Fair. The photographer for Vanity Fair just spent a week in West Virginia photographing MTR sites, people involved in fighting MTR, the folks in Mingo County whose well water is poisoned by sludge, and our sludge safety presentations to legislators. Unfortunately, the day of the sludge presentations was also the day two more miners were killed in Boone County, so he took some photos of Governor Manchin and others at Manchin’s press conference.

The word about MTR is getting out. Please help spread the word by sharing these articles with friends and family. One idea is to leave these magazines, opened to the MTR articles, sitting on tables in public libraries. Another is to bring them to the attention of colleagues, classmates, and teachers. Everyone needs to know about MTR.

Coal River

Mountain Watch