From Homer’s “wine-dark sea” to Carson’s “hidden mysteries far greater than any we have solved,” the world’s oceans have served as a source of wonder, inspiration, and sustenance for humanity for millennia.
We have continued to expand our mining program area to better understand the complex legacy coal plays in Appalachia, and are setting up for a year of even more robust analysis to come. As long as mining mars the rivers and forests of Appalachia, we will continue to monitor it and work to create data that allows communities, regulators, and researchers to hold mine operators accountable for their recovery obligations.
I first heard of SkyTruth at least a decade ago. I was amazed! Like the Eye of Sauron (but for doing good), they monitored polluters and assessed biodiversity. All right around the corner from my classes in that tiny place called Shepherdstown. I just knew: one day I had to get in.
Explosives and heavy equipment: the perfect combination for mine owners to extract coal from a pristine Appalachian landscape. Too bad this process, known as mountaintop removal mining (MTM), is terrible if you live near the mined mountain, or in a watershed downstream, or on a planet faced with the imminent threat of ever-increasing temperatures brought about by greenhouse-gas emissions.
When I joined SkyTruth in January 2022, my spring internship coincided with my last semester of primarily virtual graduate school. During my program, I was interested in pursuing internship experiences that would supplement my study of Geography while also providing an opportunity to advance an organization’s mission. While I was already familiar with SkyTruth’s impressive portfolio of work, I later came to be most impressed by SkyTruth’s sense of community and support for one another.