Mountaintop Removal Mining Visible - From Space!

These two high altitude photos were taken seven years apart in the same area around Kayford Mountain, WV. The image on the left was taken in 1996. The image on the right was taken in 2003. Note the number of ridgelines and mountaintops that have vanished, to be replaced by low rolling wasteland that is nowhere near the approximate original contour, as required by federal law. Look closely and you can see the giant stairstep shapes of the valley fills, a sludge pond and the large areas of flattened ground that have been reclaimed, according to the coal companies. Pretty amazing that you can see mountaintop removal mining from outer space!