Credit: WITF, Inc.
Transcript:
Background music:A moody, atmospheric "new age" song plays throughout.
Sound effects:
None.
Narrative:
For thousands of years, the most widely used sources of energy in the western world were wood and charcoal.
Video:
Zoom out of photo of gigantic pile of lumber.
Narrative:
But the Industrial Revolution magnified the United States' need for raw energy.
Video:
Shots of machines, gears and levers from a refinery.
Narrative:
In Pennsylvania, the discovery of anthracite, the cleanest-burning type of coal, appeared to be the perfect solution.
Video:
Large chunks of anthracite coal move down a conveyor belt.
Narrative:
Although northeast Pennsylvania was a rough area for transporting goods...
Video:
Panning photo of the Pennsylvania Canal, with several cargo ships.
Narrative:
a generation of capitalists, like coal tycoon Asa Packer, made coal mining in Pennsylvania possible and profitable.
Video:
Zoom in to photo, a sepia-colored portrait of Asa Packer.
Narrative:
From the Civil War to the early 20th century, coal was king in America....
Video:
Historical footage of miners in a coal mine, digging with shovels and pushing carts of coal through the mine.
Narrative:
But success often breeds its own destruction. Coal mining was dangerous.
Video:
Point of view shot of miner on coal train descending down a seemingly endless dark mine shaft.
Narrative:
Many workers lived in poverty while owners and management became rich.
Video:
Zoom out of a photo of exhausted-looking coal miners posing with several carts of coal.
Narrative:
Labor disputes sapped the energy of the anthracite boom.
Video:
Zoom in to a photo of very young children coal miners with filthy, coal-smeared faces.
Narrative:
And when the world found cheaper sources of energy, the once-strong anthracite region became economically depressed.
Video:
Shot of oil draining from a pipe, an abandoned refinery with broken windows on a lot filled with overgrown weeds.
Narrative:
Today, community leaders are finding ways to reignite the coal region's economy.
Video:
Several community leaders sitting around a table and having a discussion.
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