Burning The Future: Coal in America

36% of US global warming emissions comes from the approximately 501 coal-burning power plants that provide the nation with over half its electricity - more than all other sources combined.

Every eleven and one-half days, the explosive equivalent of the Hiroshima atomic bomb is unleashed upon the mountains of southern West Virginia and eastern Kentucky - for coal.

In Burning the Future: Coal in America, writer/director David Novack examines the explosive forces that have set in motion a groundswell of conflict between the coal industry and residents of West Virginia. Confronted by an emerging coal-based US energy policy, local activists watch the nation praise coal without regard to the devastation caused by its extraction. Faced with toxic ground water, the obliteration of 1.4 million acres of mountains, and a government that appeases industry, our heroes demonstrate a strength of purpose and character in their improbable fight to arouse the nation's help in protecting their mountains, saving their families, and preserving their way of life.

"This compelling and timely film burns through the 'clean coal' rhetoric of industry front groups, showing the harsh truth of the coal story and urging us all to curb our energy use and rely more on clean energy to power our society." -Bruce Nilles, Director, National Coal CampaignSierra Club

"Burning the Future is a powerful and stirring account of the cultural and ecological impacts of an industry on its last legs - a testimony from the front-lines of resistance to coal." -Rebecca Tarbotton, Global Campaign DirectorRainforest Action Network

"...This moving and disturbing story adds the human element to a sanitized political debate by telling the dirty truth about coal in America. Burning the Future just might help us move politicians to solve global warming and our country's energy needs through clean power now."
-Pam Solo, Founder and PresidentCivil Society Institute

"Think your electricity usage doesn't matter? Think again! Novak's film enlivens the phrase 'think globally, act locally' as you journey with West Virginia residents in their courageous efforts to save their beloved mountains, communities and ultimately life on earth as we know it." -Janet Keating, Co-DirectorOhio Valley Environmental Coalition

http://www.burningthefuture.org/bios.cfm