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For generations, hundreds of thousands of West Virginia coal miners earned a good living. The money they made supported local economies in towns across Appalachia. And their labor down in deep mines brought light to the rest of the world. But this prosperity came at a high price. Mountains were blown to pieces, rivers ran […] ....
Excerpted with permission from by Gregory Schwartz Phd and Trevor Decker Cohen. Copyright 2021. All rights reserved. For generations, hundreds of thousands of West Virginia coal miners earned a good living. The money they made supported local economies in towns across Appalachia. And their labor down in deep mines brought light to the rest of the world. But this prosperity came at a high price. Mountains were blown to pieces, rivers ran orange with mine tailings and generations of miners suffered from black-lung disease. For over a century, the coal industry dominated the region’s economy and psyche, preventing much else from taking root. Now, it’s crumbling. Three of the four largest coal companies that mine half the coal in the U.S. have gone bankrupt. There’s a gaping hole in parts of Appalachia where an economy used to be. ....