By Penn Loh, Phoebe Eng, Leigh Graham, Amy Hogg — Solutions for a Sustainable and Desireable Future — Volume 1: Issue 4: Aug 02, 2010
In the history of Appalachian coal mining, Harlan County, Kentucky, is a landmark in the grassroots fight for better living and working conditions. Labor unrest in the 1930s earned the county the nickname “Bloody Harlan.†Intense organizing continues today, as Harlan County resident leaders help their communities transition from a coal economy into one based on renewable energy and energy efficiency.
Poor communities in Appalachia face a complex range of historical challenges. There are few employment alternatives to coal-related jobs, even though Kentucky’s coal industry employs a third of the workers that it did 30 years ago, largely due to the increased mechanization of the industry and the use of more “efficientâ€â€”and devastating—forms of mining such as mountaintop removal. Largely absentee landlords who control much of the coal reserves are an impediment to new forms of economic development. The local elite maintains tight control over politics, commerce, and public life in this region. And now, coal reserves in the Appalachian region are declining—and the public is becoming aware of the deleterious role of coal in climate change and environmental devastation.
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