FOREWORD Building a Coffin Douglas R. Tompkins

INTRODUCTION The Mine as Metaphor Tom Butler

PART I: APPALACHIA Beauty, Biodiversity, and Culture Imperiled
  Appalachia: Land of Diversity George Wuerthner

PART II: CRADLE TO GRAVE Coal’s Deadly Legacy
Cradle to Grave: Coal is the Enemy of the Biosphere Tom Butler
    Bombing Appalachia
    Dismantling Mountains
    Devouring the Earth
    Filling the Valleys
    Processing Black Gold
    Storing Sludge
    Exporting the Riches
    Fouling the Skies
    Dumping the Ash

PART III: APPALACHIA UNDER ATTACK Big Coal’s War on Nature and People
Appalachia Imperiled: Fighting Back to Save the Land and People Mary Anne Hitt
The Power to Move Perceptions: Orwellian Language in the Land of Coal Erik Reece
    Diversity at Risk
    Mining and Deforestation
    Valley Fills
Habitat Lost: Exploding Mountains, Missing Wildlife Matthew Wasson
Mountaintop Removal: The Destruction of Appalachia Jack Spadaro
Restoration Economy: Reclaiming the Land and Our Communities Samir Doshi
    False Reclamation
The Seasonal Round: Mountain Life and the Commons of Biocultural Diversity Mary Hufford
    Wastewater
    Black Dust
    Flooding
    Mountain Exodus
Agents of Destruction: Broad-Form Deeds and the Birth of Big Coal Harry M. Caudill
Buffalo Creek, West Virginia: Disaster on February 26, 1972 Kai Erikson
    Marsh Fork Elementary

PART IV: TESTIMONIES Coalfield Residents Speak Out
My Life Is On The Line Maria Gunnoe
We Can’t Live Without Water Teri Blanton
Flooding Us Out Lucious Thompson
They Do What They Want Pam Maggard
We Won’t Shut Up Judy Bonds

PART V: THE BIG MESS The Enduring Stain of Coal-Related Pollution
Fighting for America: Mountaintop Removal and the Subversion of Democracy Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
    Air Pollution
    Mercury Pollution
    Water Pollution
    Acid Mine Drainage
Lakes of Waste: Coal Slurry Impoundments Vivian Stockman
Coal’s Catch-22: Toxic Combustion Waste a Growing Menace Lisa Gollin Evans
    Tennessee Coal Ash Disaster

PART VI: DISFIGURING A REGION Missing Mountains, Buried Streams
A photographic gallery of destruction from the coalfields

PART VII: ENERGY,NATURE,AND SOCIETY Coal’s Global Impact
Unnecessary and Stupid: An Economy Based on Ruin David W. Orr
Coal’s Climate Connection: Toward the Point of No Return Ross Gelbspan
    Power Up
Power Down: Peak Coal Coming Richard Heinberg
Sin Fuel: The Coal-to-Liquids Boondoggle Carl Pope
King Coal’s Shiny New Lie: Clean Coal Coming (Don’t Believe It) John Blair
No Such Thing as Clean Coal: Cutting Emissions Doesn’t Cut It Cindy Rank

PART VIII: RESISTANCE The Long March to Abolition
Compromise, Hell! Wendell Berry
It Ought to Be Outlawed: The Movement to Ban Strip Mining in Appalachia, 1954–1977 Chad Montrie
Abolition: The Only Solution Ken Hechler
A Call to Action: Building the Movement to End Mountaintop Removal Jerry Hardt
Resources for Action

AFTERWORD Desecration Denise Giardina
About the Contributors
The Photographers: A Tribute
Acknowledgments