Burning the Future: Coal in America
| Burning the Future: Coal in America | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | David Novack |
| Produced by | Alexis Zoullas David Novack |
| Written by | David Novack Richard Hankin |
| Music by | Raz Mesinai |
| Cinematography | Scott Shelley Samuel Henriques |
| Edited by | Richard Hankin |
|
Running time
|
89 minutes 56 minutes (PBS) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Burning the Future: Coal in America is a 2008 documentary film produced and directed by David Novack. The film focuses on the impacts of mountaintop mining in the Appalachians, where mountain ridges are scraped away by heavy machinery to access coal seams below, a process that is cheaper and faster than traditional mining methods but is damaging to the environment. Some environmental problems discussed in the film include disfigured mountain ranges, extinct plant and animal species, toxic groundwater, and increased flooding. The film's run time is 89 minutes. In 2012, it was rereleased in a shorter, updated version, that was created for public broadcast on PBS. This new version of the film’s run time is 56 minutes.
The executive producer of the film is CJ Follini, founder and CEO of the former Gun For Hire Production Studios.
This documentary concerns the coal industry’s use of mountaintop removal coal mining in West Virginia and the direct impact of this practice on West Virginia residents. The film particularly focuses on South West Virginia resident, Maria Gunnoe, an activist for the protection of her home state and its residents. In 2003, Gunnoe’s property, bridges, and five acres of land were destroyed within two hours of rainfall by a large flood, caused by the coal industry’s elimination of about 1.4 million acres of mountains. Gunnoe had lived on her same property for 37 years, and her family for generations before that. In the film, Wheeling Jesuit University ecologist, Ben Stout, asserts that the water used by West Virginia residents is not usable or consumable due to the dumping of excess mining spoil by the coal industry, and that the consumption of this water will cause people to become sick and even has the possibility to eventually cause death. Roger Lilly of Walker Machinery is featured in the film and makes the claim that the miners take great pride in making sure that they leave a “very small and gentle footprint on the scenic beauty in West Virginia”. As well, a clip from a speech by George W. Bush is shown, where he is advocating for the discovery and use of coal in “our own hemisphere” in the interest of our national security. Other interview subjects include trial lawyer for public justice, Jim Hecker, who describes the frustration of activists and environmentalists with the Bush administration’s protection of the coal industry every time something was found to be illegal or wrong with their practices. According to Hecker, the Bush administration would change the law instead of enforcing it, so that the coal industry could continue doing what they were doing regardless of the potential residential or environmental impact.
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