The Mining Disaster That Brought Down the 'Dark Lord of Coal'

Don Blankenship grew up poor in the heart of West Virginia coal country, but rose to become a union-busting CEO with a track record prioritizing profits over safety. For decades, he operated with seeming impunity, even as his company, Massey Energy, spilled toxic coal slurry into local waterways, and its miners died in preventable accidents. Then, in 2010, a disaster too big to ignore finally brought Blankenship down. But what does his long career reveal about an industry that the Trump administration is trying to revitalize?

Sources:

Peter A. Galuszka's book Thunder on the Mountain: Death at Massey and the Dirty Secrets Behind Big Coal

Sludge documentary

Mine War on Blackberry Creek documentary

CBS’s 60 Minutes report “From inmate to candidate: Who is Don Blankenship?”

Jeff Goodell’s Rolling Stone article “Don Blankenship: The Dark Lord of Coal”

https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/don-blankenship-the-dark-lord-of-coal-country-184288/

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