Ecospot: Taking Action: Larry Gibson
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- jsigwart
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For centuries, Larry Gibson's family have called Kayford Mountain their home. But for the last twenty years, Larry has been fighting an environmental disaster threatening the Appalachian Mountains, it's residents, and wildlife.
During the 1980s, corporations began an aggressive form of mining known as Mountain Top Removal. Thousands of acres of forests are clear cut and then dynamite is used to remove entire mountains. Mining debris fill valleys and streams, turning the land, streams, and underground water into a flat, toxic wasteland.
Mountain Top Removal mining is exactly that: dynamite is used to blast layers of mountains and the debris is dumped into valleys and streams, poisoning everything downstream and causing horrific flooding. The topsoil is blasted away, leaving the area unable to support vegetation for thousands of years to come.
We spent the day interviewing Larry Gibson and viewing first hand the destruction of the Appalachian mountains. Over 60 extremely toxic chemicals are being released into the ground, where it reaches the aquifers and makes the local water unsafe to drink.
Larry told us horrific tales of the million dollar blast which occured next to his property and sent huge bolders the size of automobiles flying in all directions. A child was killed in his bed while sleeping, crushed by a boulder.
Over 210,000 coal miners have been killed since the birth of the industry, and the Appallachians are being irreparably harmed. CO2 gasses from coal combustion for electricity rival the amount of CO2 pollution from all of the United States cars, trucks, boats, planes, trains, and trucks.
During the 1980s, corporations began an aggressive form of mining known as Mountain Top Removal. Thousands of acres of forests are clear cut and then dynamite is used to remove entire mountains. Mining debris fill valleys and streams, turning the land, streams, and underground water into a flat, toxic wasteland.
Mountain Top Removal mining is exactly that: dynamite is used to blast layers of mountains and the debris is dumped into valleys and streams, poisoning everything downstream and causing horrific flooding. The topsoil is blasted away, leaving the area unable to support vegetation for thousands of years to come.
We spent the day interviewing Larry Gibson and viewing first hand the destruction of the Appalachian mountains. Over 60 extremely toxic chemicals are being released into the ground, where it reaches the aquifers and makes the local water unsafe to drink.
Larry told us horrific tales of the million dollar blast which occured next to his property and sent huge bolders the size of automobiles flying in all directions. A child was killed in his bed while sleeping, crushed by a boulder.
Over 210,000 coal miners have been killed since the birth of the industry, and the Appallachians are being irreparably harmed. CO2 gasses from coal combustion for electricity rival the amount of CO2 pollution from all of the United States cars, trucks, boats, planes, trains, and trucks.
