It’s easy to forget that coal accounts for half of the electricity produced in the United States. For many of us, each time we turn on our lights, plug in our computers, or otherwise tap into the electric power grid—we are reliant on coal.
The 95-minute film (PG) explores how coal companies are using a destructive mining process in the Appalachian Mountains, to the detriment of the environment and human health. To date, more than 500 mountains have been leveled by mountaintop mining, leaving behind spoiled forests, streams, and rural communities.
Director Bill Haney focuses on the fight to save Coal River Mountain, one of the last intact ranges in West Virginia. Intimate and poignant, the film showcases devastating aerials of stripped mountains and interviews with residents whose lives are forever altered by an industry that employs them at the expense of their health and the environment they will leave to their children.
Here's a review from Reuters: “In the valleys of Appalachia, big coal companies like Massey Energy are blowing the tops off mountains to enhance profits, leaving the once lush forests looking like a lunar landscape. The Last Mountain admirably presents the truth for anyone who wants to see it.”
The event will include a post-movie Q&A with producer Clara Bingham and Bill Schlesinger, president of the Cary Institute.
Free and open to the public, the event will be held in the Cary Institute auditorium, located at 2801 Sharon Turnpike (Rte. 44) in Millbrook, New York. For more information, call (845) 677-7600 x 121 or e-mail freemanp@caryinstitute.org
The Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies is a private, not-for-profit environmental research and education organization in Millbrook, N.Y. For over twenty five years, Cary Institute scientists have been investigating the complex interactions that govern the natural world. Their objective findings lead to more effective policy decisions and increased environmental literacy. Focal areas include air and water pollution, climate change, invasive species, and the ecological dimensions of infectious disease. Learn more at www.caryinstitute.org
Source: The Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies
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