With the U.S. government's energy policies leaning further toward the use of "clean coal", the time has come to ask, exactly how clean is it?

In Burning the Future: Coal in America, writer/director David Novack examines the explosive forces that have set in motion a groundswell of conflict between the coal industry and residents of West Virginia. Confronted by an emerging coal-based U.S. energy policy, local activists watch the nation praise coal without regard to the devastation caused by its extraction. Faced with toxic ground water, the obliteration of 1.4 million acres of mountains, and a government that appeases industry, the film’s heroes demonstrate a strength of purpose and character in their improbable fight to arouse the nation's help in protecting their mountains, saving their families, and preserving their way of life.

UPDATE: Maria Gunnoe, the heroine of “Burning the Future: Coal in America”, has just been awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize in North America - essentially the Nobel Prize for grassroots work for the environment.  Congratulations Maria!

Click here to read about Maria and other Goldman Prize recipients.

LEARN MORE:
The Burning the Future website features links to articles and calls to action.

Read Variety's review.