From the Ashes

We are desperately in need of programmatic films like this. The difficulty is that those most in need of this information are those least likely to expose themselves to it.

The documentary covers most aspects of the current fuel situation, focusing on coal -- it's mining, transportation, treatment, and its economic and environmental impact. It's continued use leads to a carnival of horrors.

The conclusion, drawn not just from this film but from multiple credible sources, is that coal belongs in the 19th century as a source of energy and that many of us cling to its use either because we don't understand the economics involved or because any alternative threatens their world view.

It doesn't help when the federal government, dominated by conservative businessmen, lie in order to promote the notion that coal mining is "coming back." It's not. The lies are blatant. It isn't mentioned in this program but Scott Pruitt, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, claimed recently that 50,000 jobs had been created this year in the coal mining industry. The Bureau of Labor Statistics shows 1,300 over the same period.

No one should underestimate either the damage caused by the use of coal or the strength of the forces supporting its use.

The program is informative and sometimes moving. The descriptions of mining and transportation are adequately covered but there are also illustrations of its impact on families, including children.

We've changed our major sources of fuel before. We used to rely entirely on wood and whale oil, then coal, then oil. And now it's time to switch again to renewable sources. But our defiance of any change, our clinging desperately to a dying tradition, prevents us from doing the rational thing, namely putting research and development into alternative energy sources. China is now the leading producer of solar panels and wind turbines. They're ahead of the curve. If you install a solar panel or a small wind turbine on your own property in Oklahoma, an oil state, you pay a penalty.

How can something so obvious, so simple, be denied by so many Americans?

In its heyday, coal did not bring prosperity to communities - in fact, when coal was at its height, the largest producing states in the US were at the Bottom 5 in economic development, according to a senator interviewed in this filme. Is this the past that coal-lovers want to go back to?

This doc is spot on in that it provides incontrovertible evidence of the vast array of destruction that coal causes to workers and communities. It focuses not on carbon emissions - a subject which is dear to some, including me, but is too intangible to most people. It focuses instead on the lives of people affected by it, from those who do not trust the water they drink, to those who have died because of suspended coal particulates in cities. It shows how deeply unethical coal plants have been to their workers, many of whom lost their health because of coal. It shows their grip on local authorities. It shows those company's utter disregard and hostility for regulations that could harm their profits at any dismal percentage.

The pace is excellent and I could not move my eyes off the screen. It is a gripping narrative. It may not convince someone who is keen on believing that coal is the only path to progress. But it will be useful to those on the fence: they're in for a shock. To those, like me, who are enthusiastic fans of renewable energy, it will provide a much wider view of coal and the damage it causes.

This movie impressed me in how the center of its focus was the impact on *people* attached to this large and influential industry in the United States.

Whether you're on the "side" of the coal miner who may or may not loose his job because of new government regulations or you sympathize more with environmental protection and pollution causes, this movie is still a must-watch for those who care about the direction of the coal industry in the United States.

It doesn't matter what your political stripes are. It is important that one watches this film by first pushing aside politics, environmentalism, union issues, etc. in favour of understanding that the large crap-show created by government, the coal industry, and its surrounding groups in the United States has a real impact on real people.