Ed Wiley

Ed has never shied away from hard work.  In mines all over West Virginia, he did his job and did it well.  So when Ed realizes his granddaughter, Kayla, has fallen sick from the effects of a coal plant near her school, he begins a passionate fight on her behalf.  Ed insists that the elementary school’s location is not a green issue:  “My granddaughter is not a bug or a bird,” he says to Governor Joe Manchin, “She’s a little human being.”

Judy Bonds

Judy is among the eighth generation of her family to live in Coal River Valley.  She describes her relationship to the mountains as feeling hugged, as they surround and comfort her. In 2003 she won the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize — the largest prize worldwide — for her work opposing mountaintop removal.  These days Judy spends half her time in a former post office, spearheading a grassroots environmental group with her fervent energy and brilliant knack for strategy.  The rest of her time is spent on the road, living out of a suitcase, talking to groups far and wide about the need for truly clean energy.

Bo Webb

Bo was born in Coal River Valley and grew up along the Peach Tree river. During the leanest years he and his cousins stole coal in pillowcases to keep warm, then at age 12 he and his family moved north to Cleveland in search of a better life.  Years later Bo longed for the land and culture of his youth, and so brought his family back for a peaceful retirement. But with explosions from mining sites closing in all around him and a new mountaintop removal site practically in his own backyard, retirement is anything but restful.

Maria Lambert

Maria embodies faith.  Hungry for meaning in her life, she prays for a cause that can put her energy and talents to good use.  When Maria learns that coal companies are injecting coal waste underground, contaminating the water supply, she suspects this may be what is causing the unexplained health problems suffered by her neighbors and family members alike.  Maria’s life changes radically as she learns the full extent of the poisoning, and fights to secure clean drinking water for her community.