Take a virtual flyover of MTR sites in EKY

by Erik Hungerbuhler — last modified January-27-2009 05:30 PM

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Virtual flyover of mountaintop removal sites from KFTC Staff on Vimeo.

In the past KFTC has arranged chartered flights to show people the devastation of mountaintop removal from the air. These flights can be difficult to arrange, and there are only a limited number seats available for these flights. Now, however, with greater access to satellite imagery and virtual globes like Google Earth and NASA's World Wind we are able to show anyone the scale of the destruction of Appalachian mountains as if from the air and create informative maps by overlaying data, such as poverty rates, on-top of scaled maps of mountaintop removal mining sites.

Our friends at Appalachian Voices have used these tools to create for us a virtual flyover. This video will allow you to follow, step by step, the process of destroying a mountain. After that, you'll see the enormous scale of this mining in Eastern KY, along with maps of biodiversity and different economic indicators.

This is a great educational tool, and it will be included with updated versions of our slideshow on a DVD we'll be handing out to legislators when we are lobbying for the Stream Saver Bill. So please, use these videos when talking with your friends and families about this issue, and help us spread the word about about our work in the General Assembly.

Great story telling!

Posted by Mark at May-03-2008 04:03 PM

Thanks for doing this. This is an eco-disaster!

reply on eco-disaster

Posted by John Stoll Malloy at May-08-2008 08:01 PM

he says the pond is leaking but it only leaks when it rains.So thats what ive heard coming out of crawdad holes .I think he just wants money

Thanks for posting video

Posted by Lori Myers-Steele at February-19-2009 06:59 AM

Thanks for posting the flyover of MTR sites- very informative.

Virtual Flyover

Posted by Ryan Ward at May-26-2010 01:23 PM

I think it's great that you are pointing out we can now built things in Eastern Kentucky thanks to surface mining. The problem with the logic is that the mining industry isn't allowed to make it all flat like we would like to have it. If it were flat and we could get the access roads to Eastern Kentucky we would have a chance to get other industries interested in locating to the area. It's a shame we can't maximize the usefullness of our own property. I don't think what the mining companies are doing is any worse than the paving and urban sprawl impacts around Lexington and larger cities.

Reply To Ryan Ward

Posted by Tracie Shoemaker at April-10-2011 12:19 AM

@Ryan I cannot believe the words that you have written. You must not have any appreciation for How lUcky You are To be able to live in a place of such beauty. If you don't like the Mountains then there are so many places here in the United States that you can move to with industry and Flat land. Actually your comment is only one of ignorance because there are many many more place in the US that are populated and have no natural aspects to them if this is what you would like then you should get on googlee earth and pick from the millions of places her on earth that would better suit your anthroprocentric lifestyle. I am sure that after the mining companies as you say "Get the land flat" no one would want to come to Eastern Kentucky. You Sir have the Wool pulled over your eyes and if you think for ine second that the coal companies are trying to do you or the communities any favors you are mistaken. For example the amount of mining jobs has dropped significantly because the y no longer need as many employees as they would have had with deep mines because they have machinery thats does it and only need a few people to run it. Also if they cared anything about you guys they would not be wasting the timber by pushing it into the valleys. They could have let local logging companies have that to generate income. I am not saying that i believe in clear cutting either it's probablly the second worse thing to strip mining for the mountain ecosystems. But if its going to waste. Once your mountains are removed and flattened you think you got it bad now it will be a terrible place to live and if the water is all polluted from the valley fills no industry will come. If you would just take a little time and go into the woods and just learn somethings about what ecosytem services the mountains provide you and how many rare species that are there you may find that in this crazy world we live in where its hard to find peace and satisfaction that you may find it there. I hope that some miracle comes your way and you realize that you live in a rare in special place and there aren't many places left like that .. BE Proud Of It! Take Care OF it.

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