Crimes Against Nature

<p> The world runs on electricity at least as much as on petroleum, and in the U.S., half of the electric power comes from coal-burning plants. The verdant hills of Appalachia, the source for much of our coal, is being turned into the dark side of the moon by the relatively recent practice of dynamiting mountains to cheaply get at the seams. The chief perpetrator, the infamous Massey Energy, is a lawless company whose willful neglect finally resulted in a deadly coal mining disaster, a federal investigation and its disappearance inside another corporation. </p> <p>Massey was still the king of coal when Bill Haney shot his documentary <em>The Last Mountain</em>. Although focused on Massey's scheme to dynamite a particular mountain, the film expands to include wider issues raised by the project. Along with ruining the local ecosystem, triggering floods and leaving behind toxic sludge, Massey's mountain demolition is tied to the problem of climate change. Of course, its executives are global warming deniers, going so far as to claim that the world is getting cooler and the Arctic ice is spreading. It was just one of many lies spread by a company whose donations to George W. Bush gave it license to break the law. </p> <p>Activists, including many local people who mobilized to thwart Massey and its political allies, and who proposed a wind farm on the mountain ridge scheduled for destruction, sound the encouraging notes heard throughout <em>The Last Mountain</em>. The documentary is out on DVD. </p>