The Last Mountain Case Study and Review

Name: John Lockett

Watch The Last Mountain Movie and answer the questions below. You may
want to print this and have it in hand while watching the documentary.
Please answer all questions in dark red font color.

1. Where does this documentary take place?

Appalachia, coal river mountain

2. In the beginning there is a shot of a coal burning power plant. Do a bit of

research. What are the tall/skinny smoke stakes emitting from the exhaust
of burning coal? (Remember it’s plagiarism if you do not cite your source)

These smoke stacks blow out pollutants over a wide range.

Smokestack - Energy Education

3. Do a bit more research. What are the short- wide- smokestacks emitting?
(Remember it’s plagiarism if you do not cite your source)

These release steam

Media Smokestack Images And Air Pollution Spin – Michigan Capitol Confidential

4. What type of mining is shown in the beginning of the video?

Mountaintop removal Coal Mining

5. What is a “hollow” ...or “hollar” as they say in Buckwild?

Where two mountains meet

6. What is overburden?

Everything save for the coal that is mined in the process of coal mining. The
byproduct of mining coal.

7. What are the negative environmental effects of mountaintop removal on

the mountain hollars? (Check all that apply)
 Rocks are launched from the mountaintop into hollows or plains below, and
the dust resulting from the explosion is extremely dangerous to breathe in.

8. At times, how much of a mountain is removed and where does the

overburden go? 800-900ft

9. What do you notice about the reclamation site? What does it look like? As a
knowledgeable student, does this seem right to you? Explain WHY USING
WHAT YOU KNOW!

The reclamation site looks like it was just used as a reconstruction site and
covered up with the remnants of whatever the people on site weren’t
digging for. Lifeless, desolate, and shoddy. It isn’t right that this is allowed
by law to be the result of mountaintop mining, especially if the
mountaintop itself can’t even be correctly restored afterwards.

10.Near the bottom of the hollar scientists are testing stream water and
finding heavy metals. What is the source of the contamination?
Mountaintop mining. From the overburden that’s pushed off the side of
mountains and dust that results from explosions.

11. When were the first federal regulations passed to insure clean water
according to the movie? Does that surprise you?

Given that industrialization had been going on for nearly a century and a
half at that point in time, I’m shocked that it took the federal government
took until 1972 to pass a clean water act.

12. Coal impoundments are built after waste is created during the process of
cleaning coal and must be permanently disposed of in a man-made facility,
usually an earthen dam. Since coal impoundments are used in Virginia and
this affects all of us, do some research on the environmental issues that
may result from the use in coal impoundments. Select ALL that apply.
 Between flooding and further contamination of the water supply of from
the dam alone and what results from there burning the impoundment is a
contributor to climate change, the environment can’t catch a break.

13. What “grassroots” actions are taken to stop mountain top removal by the
environmentalists? Peaceful protesting. Sometimes on site. Civil
disobedience.

14. Why does “Don Blankenship” have incentive to say that global warming is
a “hoax”? If more regulation is placed on coal and its extraction, it affects
his company’s bottom line.

15. Why is coal considered to be such a contributor to Greenhouse Gases?

When burnt, coal emits a heinous amount of carbon dioxide into the
atmosphere.

16. Bobby Kennedy and leader of the Coal Industry sit down and have a
conversation about coal use. Please summarize each person’s position.

Bobby believes that the coal industry is robbing civilians of their clean
water, health, and other environmental necessities while the leader of the
coal industry believes that those who Bobby thinks are being robbed are
benefitting from the mining operations started by the coal industry, as
they are provided jobs and energy by the operations in question.

17. Why do some people resort to civil disobedience?

Because they feel that there is no better way to combat what they’re
fighting for and against. Politicians and laws have failed them, and so too
their system.
18. What is the problem with older coal burning plants built before the Clean
Air Act?

There aren’t any pollutant controls in the older plants, usually.

19. How does mountaintop removal reduce the ability for sustainable wind
energy in the future? It removes the ridges necessary for constructing and
upkeeping wind turbines.

20. What are the overall two sides of the story here? What are the arguments
of the coal industry? What are the arguments for the environmentalists?

The coal industry says that it provides both power and jobs to the people
while the people living nearby the mining state plainly otherwise.

21. Coal is a fossil fuel. Fossil fuels are our main source of energy generation
in this country, but it is a finite supply that we will run out of. Do some
research into alternate methods that are more environmentally friendly to
reduce our dependence on coal and other fossil fuels. Select all that apply.

Solar, wind, nuclear and hydro are all good alternatives that wen used in
bulk could more than make up for fossil’s absence.

22. What are your overall thoughts on the situation with coal and coal mining?

The situation is mainly a profit and politically motivated one, with money
having its teeth well sunken into those who have any amount of lawful say
over mining and its effects on both people and the environment.
23. Toward the end of the film, activist Maria Gunnoe says, “You’re connected
to coal, whether you realize it or not. Everybody’s connected to this.”
What are the ways identified in the film that everyone is connected to
coal?

The power we use on a daily basis has to be drawn from some source.
Given coals place in our history, it isn’t a stretch to say that we’re pretty
much all using the byproduct of these mining operations.

24. Bill Raney, president of the West Virginia Coal Association, says in the film,
“I don’t think people understand where electricity comes from. I think
most people feel like it’s an entitlement...and we don’t need to worry
about where it comes from because every time [we] flip the switch, it
comes on.” Do you agree that we are entitled or have a right to electricity?
Why or why not? Whether or not we are entitled to it, what
responsibilities do you think should come along with using electricity?

I think that people are entitled to electricity, at least in the U.S., because
without it, our other rights that are guaranteed by our constitution cannot
be upheld.

Related questions (you may need to search online or use your notes):

25. Looking at a map showing the eastern United States, locate Appalachia.
What downstream areas are/or could be affected by water pollution
stemming from mountaintop removal in Appalachia?

The Chesapeake bay area could be.

26. How much electricity in the United States comes from coal? Be sure and
use estimates for 2019. EIA Electrical Energy Generation by Source.

19.3%
27. In the movie, it states that Appalachian coal is used generate over half of
the electrical power produced. This was true in 2011 when the movie was
produced. What is the estimate for 2019? Do some research.

91% in 2019.

28. Is coal a renewable or nonrenewable energy source? Justify your answer.

Coal is a non-renewable resource, since once the supply of it is divested,

it’ll take more time than humanity can fathom to replenish it.

29. Is coal a mineral? Justify your answer?

Coal is a composite of several organic and inorganic substances, so no. It’s a

rock.

Explore three organizations that are working on the issue of mountaintop

removal.

ORGANIZATIONS
American Coal Council
Appalachian Center for the Economy and the Environment
Appalachian Voices
Climate Ground Zero
Coal River Mountain Watch
Earthjustice
Friends of Coal
Kentuckians for the Commonwealth
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition
Sierra Club
Waterkeeper Alliance
West Virginia Coal Association
 You may also search the Internet using the term “mountaintop removal
organization.”

30.For the three organizations you examine, determine which are working in
behalf of private rights, and which in behalf of the common good. Choose
one organization whose work you support and list out how to join. If you
are working as a group or with friends, please choose different
organizations.

Earthjustice and Appalachian Voices work on behalf of the common good

while Friends of coal work on behalf of the private sector.