Perpectives: The Tennessee Valley Authority and Strip Mining

Strip or 'surface' mining increased dramatically in the Appalachian region in 1961 when the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) signed contracts to buy more than 16 million tons of strip-mined coal. Though cheaper for the buyer than deep mined coal, the damage done by strip mining is far reaching and has had immediate impact on coalfield residents. The Harriman Disaster is the latest chapter in the environmental history of the TVA - and America's - quest for inexepensive energy.

Appalshop's To Save the Land and People is a history of the early grassroots efforts to stop strip mining in eastern Kentucky, where broad form deeds, signed at the beginning of the 20th Century, were used by coal operators to destroy the surface land without permission or compensation of the surface owner. The film focuses on the Appalachian Group to Save the Land and People, whose members used every means possible - from legal petitions and local ordinances, to guns and dynamite - to fight strip mining. The documentary makes a powerful statement about the land and how we use it, and how its misuse conflicts with local cultures and values.

Click here for more information about To Save the Land and People.