Tom Paxton – There Goes The Mountain
I figured this song would go along with the map I just posted on Surface Mines for Coal in Pennsylvania. https://andyarthur.org/google-maps-coal-strip-mines-in-penna.html
Coal
The Coal Bailout Nobody is Talking About – Union of Concerned Scientists
"My latest research has uncovered that every month, millions of consumers are unwittingly bailing out coal-fired power plants to the tune of over a billion dollars a year."
Big Coal Put Toxic Coal Ash in Unlined Dirt PondsâΒΒNow a Hurricane Is Heading Directly Toward Them | Democracy Now!
"Flooding from Hurricane Florence could prompt catastrophic waste spills from 24 toxic coal ash containment ponds in North Carolina.
"In the past ten years we've had two major coal ash disasters," notes Frank Holleman of the SELC. "We're sitting here with over 20 disasters waiting to happen.""
Coal Mining Has Destroyed 1.5 Million Acres of Appalachian Forest
"Coal has completely transformed the landscape in Central Appalachia. This regionβs rich history of coal mining dates back to the 18th century. Surface mining, however, is a more βmodernβ form of extracting the dirty fuel source that requires clearing forests and sometimes blowing up mountains ..."
the legacy of abandoned mines
"But you do not want to fish at the confluence of these two small streams or wade into the waters."
NPR
"In central Appalachia, one in five working coal miners with at least 25 years experience underground now suffers from the deadly disease black lung, according to a new study."
‘Fundamental Shift’ Needed To Protect Miners From Deadly Black Lung
"New and tougher rules designed to protect coal miners from the coal and silica dust that causes the fatal disease black lung may not be enough to stem an "epidemic" of the worst stages of the disease or the highest rates of disease in Central Appalachia in 25 years."
"That's the conclusion of a review of the federal government's latest efforts to keep coal miners from being exposed to excessive and toxic amounts of the dust they create as they cut into coal seams."