SATURDAY, JULY 11, 2009
8:00 PM
CULTURAL CENTER
Capitol Complex, Charleston
1900 Kanawha Blvd.
www.wvculture.org for directions

Open to the public, free of charge
seating is limited

It is critical that we provide public notification of this change. For more information, go to www.coalcountrythemovie.com

BACKGROUND

COAL COUNTRY
A film by Mari-Lynn Evans and Phylis Geller

COAL COUNTRY is a dramatic look at modern coal mining. We get to know working miners along with activists who are battling coal companies in Appalachia.

We need to understand the meaning behind promises of “cheap energy” and “clean coal.” Are they achievable? At what cost? And what are the alternatives for our energy future?

COAL COUNTRY, explores these questions by following coal as it is mined, processed and burned for power. An especially dramatic tale unfolds in Appalachia, where families and communities are deeply split over the latest form of strip mining called ‘mountaintop removal’, or MTR. Coal companies blast the tops off mountains, and run the debris into valleys and streams. Some say MTR provides the only good jobs; others claim it is destroying the land, water and air.

Here are some of the people you will meet in COAL COUNTRY:

KATHY SELVAGE suddenly became an activist when a coal company began blasting on the mountain above her house. Now she is fighting the building of a new coal-fired plant in her community.

RANDY MAGGARD is a manager in the coal industry. He is conscientious about meeting all mining regulations. He and his colleagues believe that the environmentalists may kill coal mining in West Virginia, and that the state would become an economic disaster.

JUDY BONDS is trying to get a wind farm, instead of another strip mine, on Coal Mountain. JUDY also works with Christians for the Mountains, believing that God meant for us to be good stewards of His creation. Her speeches and protests are well-known; she feels under constant threat from coal supporters. She has installed three security cameras on her house.

CHUCK NELSON is a retired union coal miner who spent 35 years underground. When Massey Energy built a processing plant in his home town of Sylvester, West Virginia, CHUCK was horrified by the dust and debris threatening the town. He began to protest. He lost his job and his family home. Now CHUCK works full time organizing community groups afraid for their land and water.

JOE LOVETT is the only lawyer in West Virginia whose time is devoted entirely to environmental issues, particularly mountain-top removal. He provides sharp analysis of the social and economic factors at work in coal country. JOE is the professional who guides the activists through the legal and regulatory system.

Both sides in this conflict claim that history is on their side. Families have lived in the region for generations. Most have ancestors who worked in the mines. Everyone shares a deep love for the land, but MTR is tearing them apart.

To tell the story of coal and the search for alternative energy, the film will also offer comments from the following:

Patrice Simms, Senior Project Attorney, NRDC
Michael Shnayerson, Vanity Fair, author COAL RIVER
Ken Hechler, former Secretary of State, West Virginia
Dr. Philippe Jamet, fmr. French Attaché for Science and Technology, Washington DC
Gene Kitts, Vice President, ICG
Dr. Michael Hendryx, Professor, WVU
Dr. Amory Lovins, Director, Rocky Mountain Institute

CREDITS:
Executive Producer:  Mari-Lynn Evans
Writer/Producer/Director: Phylis Geller
Editor: Sam Green
Videography: Jordan Freeman, Jay Johnson
Original Music Composed by: Charlie Barnett
Special musical performances by: Kathy Mattea

A Production of Evening Star Productions c. 2009