The Last Mountain

Gr 9 Up—The rich biodiversity of the forests and land that surround Coal River Mountain, West Virginia, lies atop a valuable fossil fuel: coal. The mountain and the hollows of Appalachia are the stage for a colossal struggle between people fighting to protect their homes and corporations seeking to make a profit. This story has been told in other documentaries, such as Burning the Future: Coal in America. The grassroots organizers and residents are familiar-Maria Gunnoe, Bo Webb, Dr. Ben Stout, and Joe Levett. So too are the antagonists-Massey Energy, Don Blankenship, and Joe Manchin. What is added to this film, and is its highlight, is the involvement of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who joined the fight to save the mountain. Segments of the program illustrate the process of mountaintop removal mining, restoration, slurry ponds, and coal-fired power plants. Other portions of the film discuss the health concerns of the people living near the mines and power plants; the election of George W. Bush and the political power of dollars from corporate America, government legislation, and subsidies to the coal industry; the work of Climate Ground Zero (an environmental group that uses civil disobedience and nonviolence to stop the mining); and wind farms as an alternate energy solution. It is an incredible story playing out now, in real time, and this powerful documentary tells it well. Classrooms across the curriculum can utilize this program to discuss and research a multiplicity of topics.—Patricia Ann Owens, Illinois Eastern Community Colleges, Mt. Carmel