Friday, March 7, 2008

Ed Wiley For President!

I recently came across this film concisely titled Mountain Top Removal put out by Haws River Films in North Carolina. While there are numerous films that explore the issue of MTR throughout Appalachia, I particularly liked this one for two main reasons. First of all, it offers a wide variety of perspectives from people that are involved in the issue. The film features Bill Raney, president of the West Virginia Coal Association; Maria Gunnoe, Bob White resident and MTR activist; an appearance by Gov. Joe Manchin and my new personal hero, Ed Wiley, whose grandaugther is a student at Marsh Fork Elementary. Their combined perspectives help the viewer to see the various view points that either support or condemn MTR practices in the state of West Virginia.
My second reason for particularly liking this film is that it's short. With a running time of just under an hour this film can make a great teaching tool by giving a thorough overview of the issue, including its history, present practices and future long term projected impacts. The information that is presented in this film is appropriate for both persons just learning about the issue as well as seasoned scholars/activists.
Finally (ok, I know this technically makes 3), the soundtrack which includes Donna the Buffalo, Julie Miller, John Speckter and Sarah Hawkes is awesome!
Below is a review taken from the Roanoke Times:

Review by
Tim Thornton Roanoke Times Feb 13 2007
It's a straightforward documentary with a straightforward title: "Mountain Top Removal." It ties more threads more tightly together than perhaps any other film account of mountaintop removal coal mining.
People familiar with the subject will see many familiar faces. Julia Bonds, the Coal River Valley resident and 2003 recipient of the Goldman Environmental Prize, an international prize honoring grass-roots environmentalists, is here. So is Allen Johnson, co-founder of Christians for the Mountains. Ed Wiley, who confronted West Virginia's governor and then marched from Charleston to Washington, D.C., to raise awareness of the threat a coal mine and sludge pond pose to his granddaughter's elementary school, plays a big role. So does Maria Gunnoe, who says 5 acres of her family's land have been washed away since a mountaintop removal mine increased the frequency and intensity of flooding by a nearby creek. Larry Gibson, whose family land on Kayford Mountain is surrounded by mountaintop removal coal mines, is prominent. So is Carmilita Brown, whose well was contaminated by a mountaintop removal operation.
The pro-mining forces get their say, but they definitely land on the short end of that stick. It's up to viewers to decide whether the filmmakers or the weakness of their pro-coal arguments are the reason.
Viewers with a quick eye will spy Blacksburg activist Erin McKelvey and some coal cars manufactured at the old East End Shops in Roanoke. Jeff Goddell, author of "Big Coal," admits that he didn't know anything about the situation in Appalachia until The New York Times Magazine sent him into West Virginia in 2001. "Like many Americans, until that moment, I didn't ever realize we still burned coal," Goddell tells the camera. He thought that went out with top hats and corsets, Goddell says.
But the best lines come from Wiley. "It don't grow back," he says of a decapitated mountains. And from Gibson, who has been fighting the big mining companies for more than two decades. "They was always hope," he says, standing on his patch of green encircled by blasting and dozers and giant haul trucks. "Cause that's all I had."

1 comment:

MtnButterfly said...

Hey Dianna,

Your blog is spectacular. You should really try to go and visit Ed sometime if you havent already. I'm hoping to be working with his wife Debbie on a wind campaign for Coal River Mtn sometime in the near future. If you'd like an introduction, I'll be stopping by Ed's tomorrow and then again next week. He and Debbie love company, especially from good people. Let me know.

Kind Regards,

Rory McIlmoil
rorygep@gmail.com