Hi. My name is Karma Alvey, and I live in the "fastest growing coal-producing region in the United States," also known as the Illinois Coal Basin (Peabody Energy). It's a great place to live, if you are interested in getting black-lung and having your Senior Pictures taken atop a Tonka Truck. If you don't know the struggle, I'd compare it to the movie "October Sky" with Jake Gyllenhaal. It looks a little bit like this:

Believe it or not, people used to live there. Forests used to house hundreds of species of animals. I used to ride to school on these roads, visit friends who lived on these roads. But now, barricades and signs reading, "Warning: Explosives in use," cut the area off from the outside world. The sound of birds and streams is replaced with blast sirens, signaling people to stay out of the vicinity. What's worse? You can see it all from the highway.

I used to live there. The cemetery featured in the video? My grandma is buried there. We had to drive a funeral procession through a coal mine to put her to rest. We stood outside, in the sun, listening to the eulogy, and had to strain to hear over the sound of heavy equipment. I have no words to describe how angry I feel about her beautiful service being interrupted by trucks and bulldozers.

The saddest part of it all is that people actually justify this destruction. "Coal mines create jobs." "Without the coal mine, our town would be in poverty." "Coal gives you heat at night. You should appreciate that mine."

Sure, coal mines create jobs. So does wind energy and solar energy, but no one wants to discuss that. Furthermore, our town was doing just fine without the coal mine, and there's less business now than there was 30 years ago. We've lost a bank, a restaurant, a gas station, and a clothing store all in the last five years. Our town is seeing poverty more now than they were before the mine ever came around.

I know coal heats my home, and puts power in my laptop and the various other appliances I use on a daily basis, but living in the middle of a "Mad Max" landscape has far more consequences than rewards. Everything is always covered in coal dust. It's bad for the lungs, especially if they are already affected by asthma or another disorder. I had to drive to school through a coal mine. If I didn't admit I've nearly been run over countless times by equipment and coal haulers, then I'd be lying. Oh, and then there's the hundreds (probably thousands) of acres of Shawnee National Forest that have been destroyed to feed Peabody Energy. Displaced wildlife has relocated into other areas, causing overpopulation. Displaced people, that's another issue entirely.

When I was 2, my parents built my childhood home. It wasn't the most beautiful home to anyone else, but it was the best house I could have asked for as a kid. When I was in 4th grade, we were told that there had been coal seams found on the property we lived on. Long story short, I ended my 6th grade year in a new house that smelled like paint and didn't feel like home. Now, to get groceries, I take the highway and am forced to watch as the place where I made so many memories is dozed over and blown apart.

Just a few years ago, people on the other side of the highway were displaced or inconvenienced by the drastic extent of the mining. Many people were made to move, and those who stayed have to drive out of their way, through a coal mine to get home. Their houses are constantly being shaken and damaged; their kids can't have friends over because other vehicles aren't allowed on the roads. And, even through protest after protest, the mining giant still got their way.

A sign posted by one of the affected residents. I was so proud I had to pose with it.

There was a lot of backlash by the majority of the area in response to the protests. Everyone here is so set in the way of coal mining. If you don't agree with the practice, be ready to get an earful from angry townspeople (I'm really not kidding - moments before this picture was taken, I was literally stopped by a coal miner in the middle of the road and given the what-for). They refuse to see the damage it's doing not only to the environment, but to their kids, their neighbors, and themselves. Living in coal country is hard on everyone. It's a matter that's destroyed relationships, taken lives, and is nothing but toxic - physically, mentally and emotionally - to everything surrounding it. The coal industry in my area has taken advantage of employees, villagers, and habitats. They've broken rules and have gotten people hurt, but they are still allowed to wreak havoc on our home. It's about time we all start asking questions and demanding change.