As the most technologically advanced generation so far, a majority of students feel certain expectations are placed upon them to continue to achieve even more than their ancestors. Juniors Stephanie Loughner and Jillian Sompel and senior Kaitlyn Walton no longer need to feel this pressure; they have already begun to make their mark.

The West Virginia Energy Gathering is an annual assembly to discuss alternative forms of energy that could limit the use of precious non-renewable resources. It was at this recent forum that Loughner, Sompel and Walton debuted a film they put together on mountaintop removal coal mining; a form of coal retrieval that involves blowing up tops of mountains and dumping them into valleys. This method of mining not only destroys the mountain itself, but also the habitats on the mountain and the streams and valleys where waste from the site is dumped.

Perhaps the most famous casualty of mountaintop removal is the Kayford Mountain near Charleston, W.Va. For more than 200 years, Mr. Larry Gibson and his ancestors thrived under the shadow of this mountain. After undergoing 20 years of continuous demolition, however, the mountain no longer exists. Mr. Gibson now occupies the highest point of land for 12,000 acres.

Inspired by Ecology teacher Mr. Angelo Ross, who brought back raw footage of the carnage at the Kayford site, Sompel combined her interest in both film and the subject matter and decided to edit the footage to make it into a usable production that would raise awareness on mountaintop removal’s “horrible, harmful effects.”

Sompel was then introduced to Loughner and Walton, also students of Mr. Ross, who showed interest in doing something to stop the “useless destruction.”

Meeting whenever they could find time in their schedules, Loughner, Sompel and Walton spent weeks adding music and sound, cutting through legal red tape, editing and pasting together scenes to produce something better than anyone could have imagined.

“The video turned out really good,” Loughner explained. “We were all really proud of it. Then we heard about the gathering and decided to show it there.”

The film was well received by the dozens of environmental acitivsts and coalitions who met in West Virginia and is now being reproduced as an educational tool to be used across the nation. Loughner would like to take it a bit further and place the video on the Internet where it can be seen by viewers worldwide. Regardless of where it is seen, however, it is sure to accomplish its purpose: to raise awareness.

Sompel, who sees the film as a sort of “peaceful protest,” recognizes that if mountaintop removal mining is not stopped in places like West Virginia, it will spread to Pennsylvania and eventually, throughout the mountain ranges of the world; making efforts to stop it all the more crucial. (Some information obtained from www.mountainkeeper.org)