A new documentary from the Centre for Investigative Journalism in Berkeley debunks the myth of “clean coal”.
Dirty Business, which opened on January 14, shows scarred mountains, abandoned homes on remote hillsides, toxic water streams, respiratory fatalities and children with birth defects as side effects of coal extraction and power stations that burn it.
The documentary also shows the effect of coal combustion on global temperatures. Narrator Jeff Goodell said he looked at open-top mine in West Virginia like the “first time you look into an abattoir after a lifetime of eating animals”. Coal, says Goodell, is “the rock that built America”.