Scars on the Surface

Man Builds, Man Destroys: A major UN series of 30 films dealing with our global environment and what man is doing to it.

• Categories: News & Features / Features / Man Builds, Man Destroys
• Video Length: 00:28:59
• Production Date: 1 October 1972
• Asset Language: English
• Subject Topical: ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION; ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION; ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND TECHNOLOGY; MINING; MINING INDUSTRY; POVERTY
• Geographic Subject: UNITED STATES
• MAMS Id: 2643242
• Parent Id: 837609

Description

Surface or "strip mining" is modern technology at its peak of development. The hills of East Kentucky, rich in deposits of coal, have in a few brief years been laid bare in the race to secure the minerals to provide energy, power and wealth. This process has left behind poverty and degradation and a seemingly total disregard for the worth of the land itself. The industries which have perfected these methods of extraction have paid little attention to restoration. But perhaps Appalachia can serve as a lesson to the developing nations around the world. As they accelerate the work of exploiting their own land, they may be reminded by the landscape of Kentucky that some mining methods leave scars that centuries cannot erase.

• Scripts: File; MBMD_SCARS_ON_THE_SURFACE_471_SCRIPT_01OCT72.pdf (1.86 MB); File; MBMD_SCARS_ON_THE_SURFACE_471_SYNOPSIS_01OCT72.pdf (615.97 KB)