Search Results for 'mountains' | randyolson.photography

$Aerial view of mountain top removal coal mining site and V-shaped valley fills that create a moonscape of unusable land. Roughly 1.2 million acres, including 500 mountains, have been flattened by mountaintop removal coal mining in the central Appalachian region, and only a fraction of that land has been reclaimed for so-called beneficial economic use.$

$After coal is extracted at a mountaintop removal mine site, a land reclamation project begins by spraying hydroseed on steep rocky slopes where little can grow. Mines are legally required to restore the land to its “approximate original contour.”<br /> Roughly 1.2 million acres, including 500 mountains, have been flattened by mountaintop removal coal mining in the central Appalachian region, and only a fraction of that land has been reclaimed for so-called beneficial economic uses, according to research by environmental groups.$