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Tracking Mountaintop Removal Mining

ilovemountains.org

Even though mountain top removal mining has been on the decline since 2008, the effects on people living in coal mined areas, is not.  A new tool tracks the impact on communities over time and shows where it’s been greatest.

Mountain top removal is a form of surface mining, that uses explosives to blast mountaintops to get at the coal.  Environmental groups, Appalachian Voices and Sky Truth used 30 years of high-resolution satellite imagery to create an interactive map showing its lasting economic effects.  The map identifies the 50 central Appalachian communities most at risk, with   higher poverty rates and population decline: 10 in southwestern Virginia, 18 in eastern Kentucky and 23 in West Virginia.

The newmapping tool is meant to be used as a free database.  Its creators say it shows increasing encroachment on communities by mountain top removal mining, even as the practice declines.

Click here for the Communities at Risk site.

Robbie Harris is based in Blacksburg, covering the New River Valley and southwestern Virginia.