Sierra Club Productions

Coal Country

A feature-length documentary, companion book and soundtrack.

Executive Producer: Mari-Lynn Evans; Written, Produced and Directed by Phylis Geller. With underwriting and outreach support from Sierra Club Productions and Sierra Club's Beyond Coal Campaign. Additional support from: Adam J. Lewis, Earthjustice, Park Foundation. Coal Country airs nationwide on the Planet Green network.

Coal Country takes us inside modern coal mining. We get to know working miners along with activists who are battling coal companies in Appalachia. We visit the homes of people most directly affected by mountaintop removal mining (MTR) and hear about health problems, dirty water in their wells and streams, and dust and grime on their floors. We hear from miners and coal company officials who are concerned about jobs and the economy and believe they are acting responsibly in bringing power to the American people.

Both sides in this conflict claim that history is on their side. Families have lived in the region for generations and most have ancestors who worked in the mines. Everyone shares a deep love for the land, but MTR is tearing them apart.

Are the people fighting against mountaintop removal really protecting the earth, or do they stand in the way of affordable energy for all Americans? What is behind promises of "cheap energy" and "clean coal." Are they achievable, and at what cost? And what are the alternatives for our energy future?

COAL COUNTRY: Rising Up Against Mountaintop Removal Mining

Edited by Shirley Stewart Burns, Mari-Lynn Evans, and Silas House
Published in Fall 2009 by Sierra Club Books
Stories and images from a land under siege--a companion volume to the eagerly awaited film.

Available from the Sierra Club: Coal Country, the book | DVD | Audio CD
Also available from these online retailers. Look for the home video and companion CD as well: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Liaison Distribution

Find out more:

Learn about Sierra Club's campaign to move beyond coal
The Sierra Club's conservation work in Appalachia
About Writer/Producer/Director Phylis Geller and Executive Producer Mari-Lynn Evans
Environmental Law Heroes
Killing King Coal, from SIERRA magazine
Watch singer Kathy Mattea who offers her personal comments on coal mining, and performs several tracks from her Grammy-nominated CD, COAL, in the film
Official film website

Kayford Mountain, WV, has been almost entirely destroyed by mountaintop removal coal mining. The unmined portion belongs to longtime activist Larry Gibson, whose family has lived on Kayford for 200 years.

In the News:

Sierra Club Coal Campaign Director Bruce Nilles' blogs on Daily Kos
Sign up for Sierra Club e-newsletters

Links:

Photo courtesy Mark Schmerling.