June 29th, 2011

Battle for Blair Mountain airs 8pm Sunday

CNN anchor and special correspondent Soledad O’Brien (@soledad_obrien) reports on a battle that is dividing communities in West Virginia and beyond.  On one side are coal miners, their families, and the mining industry who are collectively supportive of mountain top removal – a destructive, yet highly-effective form of strip mining.  On the other side of this debate is a mix of interests: community activists, environmentalists, and the EPA feel mountaintop removal threatens the environment; and still others feel the practice threatens future coal mining.  All sides feel their arguments support a way of life that has existed for generations.   With nearly 50 percent of America’s relatively inexpensive electrical power still coming from coal, it’s a battle whose outcome affects everyone.