Description

Critically examining the fierce conflicts over an intense and increasingly prevalent form of strip mining, Combating Mountaintop Removal: New Directions in the Fight against Big Coal documents the changing relationships among the coal industry, communities, environment, and economy from the perspective of local grassroots activist organizations and their broader networks._x000B_Drawing on powerful personal testimonies of the hazards of mountaintop removal in Boone County, West Virginia, Bryan T. McNeil shows how Appalachian community coalitions have fostered important connections in their opposition to coal mining practices. Focusing on the organization Coal River Mountain Watch (CRMW), the study reveals a turn away from once-strong labor unions. Citizens have turned to alternative forms of activism, centering mainly on the industry's effect on community and the environment._x000B_This shift represents an effort to address social issues in a new space outside of organized labor.