Burning the Future: Coal in America (2008) Documentary

Burning the Future: Coal in America (2008) - I am so conflicted by this good documentary about mountaintop removal coal mining and the effects of this activity on the people of West Virginia. It is a crime the toxic poisoning that is going on in coal states with the invention of mountaintop removal mining. Slurry ponds that contaminate water, coal dust that sickens residents, loss of jobs as the innovation requires less people to perform, it is all bad. I push down that little part of me though that is cold and uncaring, the part that says "You get what you vote for." I must not listen to the part of me that knows these same people boldly and proudly supported the Bush administration. His policies sped up the development of this type of mining and those people who thought he was so great are now paying for that folly. I push those negative thoughts down and keep thinking about the fact we are born into our lives they don't choose where they come into this world. Coal is all these people have know and it is horrible that the new methods are ruining their lives. The US gets 51% of its electricity from coal and this movie reinforces that we need to move to wind and solar sooner better than later. Although the movie is heavy handed, the harm done in the name of coal is staggering.
Rating (7.8)