The presentation addressed the problem of Mountaintop Removal, or MTR, a strip mining practice of blasting off the tops of mountains so that machines can mine thin seams of coal. Webb and Cooper showed the audience the dangers MTR presented to the environment and to citizens residing near the mines, which are heavily concentrated in eastern Kentucky and in West Virginia.

The slide show was 20 minutes long and explained the process of MTR and its effects on citizens of Appalachia. It began by explaining that the Appalachian Mountains are some of the most productive hardwood forests in the world, producing the most sought-after ginseng as well as berries, mushrooms, and grains, upon all of which the citizens of the region are dependent as sources of both food and income.

Citizens living in these areas have a deep connection to the land, and forests have been a source of recreation, hunting and beauty for people whose families have resided in Appalachia for up to nine generations. These forests are also rich in coal deposits and have been mined for many years using underground mines. Recently, however, coal companies have relied on the MTR method of coal mining.

The process involves blowing about 600 feet of what coal companies call “overburden,” or topsoil, off of the mountains. Without topsoil, native trees and plants can no longer grow and weeds from China are grown in their place.

The topsoil is removed from the mountain and placed into what is called a valley fill on top of streams. Fifteen thousand miles of streams in Appalachia have been buried by valley fills, which are about one mile wide. Leaf-shredder organisms in the water are killed in this process, robbing fish of food. The valley fills have also polluted drinking water. Additionally, chemical by-products from the coal cleaning have created 663 coal slurry ponds, each about 100 feet deep.

Disastrous sludge spills have occurred in two of Appalachia’s main rivers. Another risk of MTR is blowouts, in which old underground mines fill with water and pressure blows out the side of the mountain, releasing water and sludge that runs into nearby towns. In some instances, like that of the Bartley Mine Disaster, blowouts leave thousands homeless and hundreds killed.

Because MTR makes the natural water absorption process in forests impossible, flash flooding has caused 10,000 homes to be destroyed in 2001. People whose homes are destroyed are often moved to trailers and are later moved to homes built on or near old MTR sites, putting them at risk for blowout. Coal River Mountain Watch estimates that if the current rate of MTR continues, half of the mountains in West Virginia will be gone. The landscape will still show signs of MTR destruction 100,000 years from now.

Many citizens of Appalachia have been laid off as a result of MTR, since the work of many men has been replaced by the use of machines on mountaintop sites. Many people are moving away from the area to avoid fallout from MTR. The coal companies practicing MTR do not pay a significant amount in taxes and thus the nearby towns do not share in economic benefits.

Legislation has been attempted to stop MTR. The Surface Mine Control and Regulation Act ordered mining companies to reshape mountains unless they could find a lucrative industrial purpose for the land. Less than five percent of the mountains that remain unshaped have been developed. It would take ten billion dollars of federal money to repair the damage to the landscape that has been caused by MTR.

“They [coal executives] should be in jail,” Webb said. “This is a crime. Thirty-six years ago we put a man on the moonWe have the internet, we have lasersWhat I’m wondering is why we’re still burning coal.”

Coal is responsible for 56 percent of electrical energy in the United States. The state of Ohio and Oberlin rely on coal for 90 percent of electrical fuel.

The lecture was part of a cross-country lecture tour Webb and Cooper are heading. By informing people across the United States about the risks of MTR, Webb and Cooper hope to build contacts and start a movement to stop politicians from allowing the practice to continue.

“Mountaintop Removal is not a problem that most people know about,” Cooper said.

People at the presentation were encouraged to write to their state congressmen, write letters to editors of local newspapers and to donate money to help fuel the lecture tour.