That’s how much toxic waste covered Eastern Kentucky less than a decade ago when a Martin County coal mine’s reservoir overflowed.
Coal mining has always been dirty work, and with mountain-top removal (or seam mining or whatever proponents call it), it’s gotten even dirtier, albeit less human labor intensive.
Dave Cooper, an engineer from Lexington, KY, will share his Mountain Road Show of nearly 500 Appalachian mountains destroyed by the worst kind of coal mining, at Baruch Auditorium tonight (7 p.m., 284 Calhoun St. at MUSC, and it’s free).
Some of the coal that is being burned for me to write this and you to read this likely came from such a place. I personally can’t stop using electricity, but we all need to do everything we can to clean up where we get it.
David Quick of the Post and Courier wrote a great preview of the presentation here. If you’re downtown or close by, you should go.
(Kayford Mountain, West Virgina)
