Coal removal crisis portrayed in film, music

The sights and sounds of “Coal Country” filled the Buskirk-Chumley Theater on Sunday.

A packed crowd of environmental activists, musicians and Bloomington community members gathered to watch the documentary “Coal Country” and hear musicians from the movie’s soundtrack play music about the travesties that face the people who live near the Appalachian mountains.

“What we have in this room is very powerful,” said Andy Mahler, Heartwood’s Network Support Coordinator and coproducer of the “Coal Country Music”  companion CD. “We are going to stop mountaintop removal in the next 12 months.”

Every day many Americans living in the Appalachian mountain range are forced to face the destruction of their surroundings and health because of mountaintop coal mining.

“In West Virginia alone, they use three million pounds of explosives a day. They use more explosives every week than what we used at Hiroshima.” Mahler said before the event. “If someone else was doing it to us, we would consider it an act of war. It is not just business as usual.”

Mahler said mountaintop coal mining is a serious problem that affects all Americans.

For this reason, executive producer Mari-Lynn Evans and director Phylis Geller sought to make a film that examined the realities of the modern coal-mining industry in the Appalachian mountain range region of West Virginia, eastern Tennessee and Kentucky. “Coal Country” is meant to be a balanced film that presents perspectives from both the coal companies and the activists who fight for the end of mountaintop removal.

Bloomington City Council representative Isabel Piedmont spoke on behalf of Mayor Mark Kruzan before the music and film began.

“We are very proud to have this event in Bloomington,” Piedmont said.

She also said mountaintop coal removal is a serious problem. She said that by 2010, projections show that 1.9 million acres, the size of Delaware, will be gone.

After Piedmont’s brief speech, other community members spoke about preserving the environment in Bloomington.

Four musicians then performed songs about life in coal country.

Nashville singer Diana Jones was warmly greeted by the audience for both her initial performance as well as her duet with Jason Wilber, the coproducer of the “Coal Country Music” CD, for a cover of John Prine’s “Paradise.”

“I hope it will make you feel like taking action,” Wilber said.

The film began with the image of coal miners walking out of a coal mine, and from there the filmmakers took viewers on a journey through mountaintop coal removal in the Appalachian mountains.

The film discussed the wide array of issues exist in the industry. Many of the people interviewed in the documentary discussed the issues that arise with attempting to have a job while preserving their community and health.

“Sometimes you need to shock people to make a change,” said Judy Bonds, codirector for Coal River Mountain Watch and resident of Coal River Valley in West Virginia in the film. “I think America has forgotten the Appalachians.”