The film explores how mountaintop removal mining in West Virginia has affected local communities.
Filmed over two years, Mountain Top Removal features community advocates, such as Ed Wiley, Larry Gibson, Julia Bonds, Maria Gunnoe, and Mountain Justice Summer volunteers, in their efforts to oppose the destruction of Southern Appalachia's natural landscape.
The film includes commentary from Jeff Goodell, author of Big Coal: The Dirty Secret Behind America's Energy Future, geologists Dr. William Schlesinger and Dr. Peter Taft, and also Bill Raney, president of the West Virginia Coal Association.
[1][2] Mountain Top Removal won the Reel Current Award (presented by Al Gore) at the 2008 Nashville Film Festival.
The film's soundtrack includes music by Jim Lauderdale, Donna the Buffalo, John Specker, and Sarah Hawker.