Mountaintop Removal Mining
The Coal Industry vs. the Environment
Coal generates more than half the electricity in the United States, about 10 percent of which originates from the tops of mountains. The form of surface mining known as mountaintop removal became widespread in Appalachia in the 1970s, when soaring energy prices and new technology made it economically feasible to extract thin seams of coal from hilltops that were previously too costly to mine. The practice became increasingly prevalent in the 1990s, when low-sulfur coal, a cleaner-burning form available in the Appalachian region, was needed to meet strengthened Clean Air Act requirements. In mountaintop removal mining, coal companies clear peaks…
