| Plot Summary |
The gas that caused the explosion was completely invisible. On April 5, 2010 the men working at the Upper Big Branch mine were doing what they always do, mining coal. But when a spark ignited the methane, a fireball ripped through miles of underground tunnels killing everything it touched, including 29 men. After the explosion ambulances raced by Betty Harrah's home. An hour later Betty, a fierce supporter of the coal industry, answered the phone, and as the voice revealed that her brother, Stevie, had died with 28 other men in the largest mining disaster in 40 years, her life changed forever. Yes, as Betty says, "coal is life here," but, she continues, "Massey Energy murdered my brother." It's not easy to take sides when the only option for a decent wage means putting your life, your home and your community at risk. Lorelei Scarbro knows this better than anyone. Her husband died of Black Lung, and Massey, the fourth largest coal company in the U.S., just announced plans to begin a 6000-acre mining project behind her home. In 2007 Lorelei spoke out for the first time at a public hearing. "This isn't coal mining," she yelled. "This is the rape of Appalachia!" "Overburden" explores a world beyond the headlines and political congestion and dives deeply into the lives of two families on opposite sides of a fractured community. Lorelei Scarbro, a tenacious environmentalist grandmother, has what few in this struggle have ever had before: a solution. She is working to break the stranglehold of a ruthless coal industry by building a job-creating wind farm on the last remaining mountain in her community. Across the valley, Betty Harrah, a fiery pro-coal right-winger, fiercely defends the coal industry against treehuggers, like Lorelei, who threaten the only livelihood she and her family have ever known. These two lives are thrust together when the Upper Big Branch mine tragedy shatters their community. Through an in-depth personal story unfolding over seven years, "Overburden" underscores the need for reconciliation and economic justice, as Betty and Lorelei join forces to take on a rogue industry and heal their wounded community. With the work of these two courageous women, the epicenter of change may just come from the most unexpected place, the ridges of the Appalachian Mountains.
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