In the summer of 2007 I began shooting a body of work examining the coal industry in Appalachia. What started as an interest in the modern coal mining process known as mountaintop removal, quickly evolved into an extensive survey of the social/political institutions surrounding these practices, and perhaps most importantly, the cultural implications of extracting coal from Appalachian Mountains. What I found over the course of the trip was that these coal mining processes had quickly developed into one of the most destructive and pervasive forms of modern industry in the world.

Coal, the number one energy-based resource domestically, is responsible for mass environmental destruction, and some, if not most of the United States would suggest that it's a necessary sacrifice. Consider the flicker of our monitors and lights, which are powered by coal-burning power plants, using coal from the Appalachian region. The issue's complexities clearly go above and beyond this apparently less-than-polemical "sacrifice." The human cost, above all, presented itself clearly and potently, rendering notions of "necessary
evils" and "sacrifices" relatively useless political rhetoric.

Appalachian culture is historically defined through coal practices and popularly defined by an unfair misconception about its people. In reality, I found communities sustaining culturally rich legacies, and I was fortunate enough to observe from the periphery, as a witness. Over the course of three months, I became more involved with the people I was around, and was quickly shown nothing short of good old Southern hospitality. A lot of these photographs represent time spent in these quiet and dauntless communities. In terms of mountaintop removal, I found people both embracing and/or vehemently opposing such practices. Of course, there were many that did not fit this neat polarization, but the ideological and economical battle was/is being waged ferociously in the mountains.