Strip Mining: Energy, Environment, and Economics

Frances Morton, Gene DuBey. 1979. 16 mm Film.

Strip mining accounts for over half of the coal produced in Appalachia as well as the region's most conspicuous environmental problem. It forces people to choose between jobs and the beauty, ecology, and in some ways, the existence of the mountains on which they live. Strip Mining: Energy, Environment and Economics looks at the history of this controversial mining method, the citizens' movement organized to stop it, and the battle to regulate strip mining that culminated in passage of the federal Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977. Filmed during the midst of the energy crisis of the 1970s, the film retains its relevance as a U.S. energy policy based on unfettered consumption again comes into question and more people weigh the impact of their work and lifestyle.

"The viewer soon becomes aware that the lessons of economic history are seldom learned and that the route to common sense must be delicately balanced between regulation and reality."— Science Books & Films

"Characterizes the controversy over strip mining as a public social drama ... sets this issue into perspective through objectively selected and compiled interviews."— Booklist

"Poses a dilemma in social ethics very effectively."— Centre College

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