The Fracturing of Greene County
Off the roaring banks of the ancient Monongahela River, a town that was built to be destroyed, wakes under an icy shroud of clouds to a flag frozen at half mass. The cracking asphalt that loops around the Old Side of Nemacolin, Pennsylvania has a direct view of what is colloquially known as “Mt. Kilimanjaro” – a toxic and spontaneously combustible mountain of coalmine waste. The shale deposit’s unwanted tenure in the town...
more »The Fracturing of Greene County
Off the roaring banks of the ancient Monongahela River, a town that was built to be destroyed, wakes under an icy shroud of clouds to a flag frozen at half mass. The cracking asphalt that loops around the Old Side of Nemacolin, Pennsylvania has a direct view of what is colloquially known as “Mt. Kilimanjaro” – a toxic and spontaneously combustible mountain of coalmine waste. The shale deposit’s unwanted tenure in the town reflects the attitude of the place – of Greene County – and of other forgotten coal towns throughout the country. In Greene County, cultures collide in a way the residents can’t even see. The innate and subtle intermingling of foreign ways of life changes the county forever. Coal country is being drilled. In the heart of coal country, energy sleeps in the motels and drinks at the bars. It speeds on the roads and dines at the restaurants. It pumps gas at the local stations, and pulls it from the earth in the fields. But the residents aren’t new to this. They’ve seen how energy has the unique ability to fracture people and their ways of life. But this newest, critical fracture — an expansion of gas drilling into coal country — is the most trying of all.
The Fracturing of Greene County is a cultural documentary about a community in transition. It’s the story of one county’s diamond-sided personality and outlook on energy development. The project itself is intended to be in book format at its close. By capturing the highly visual characters of Greene County and putting them side-by-side, this county can represent more than just itself. It represents how we all react to drastic constant change, and how it can be used for both good and bad. How a company can send a child to school and then crack the school years later with underground mining. How it can build baseball fields and drain lakes. It’s the story of the struggle we all face when experiencing that which we don’t understand, and we all can relate to it. This project is a belief that we all can appreciate all sides of change. How complicated some decisions can be. How something as simple as turning on the lights can have incredible implications in multifaceted dynamics - how one person’s actions are justifiable in light of another’s failure. What happens when coal mining, which built up a way of life, is replaced by an industry that changes constantly? And how it, too, will eventually fade away into the raging Monongahela.
With funding from the LUCEO Student Project Awards, more time and effort could be dedicated to documenting this important aspect of the history of energy extraction. With over 150 interviews and five total trips, the project is only in its infancy, and so much has been accomplished. All of the funds would go to travel and living costs, allowing the project to go uninterrupted and to flourish with the dedicated time it deserves. Without future funding, this project will not continue.
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