In a process called mountaintop removal, the coal-mining industry blows off the tops of mountains with explosives to get at coal faster and cheaper, she said. As a result, surrounding areas are buried by pollution and waste, streams dry up and a soot lingers in the air, she said.So with the help of Google, the non-profit built a virtual “national memorial” for 470 topless mountains in the area—marked by half-mast flags—with information and guides on the process of mountaintop removal. The map layer, found in Google Earth’s “featured content,” also shows historic before and after aerial photos of the mountains; overlay comparisons to illustrate the scope of destruction; and links to first-hand stories and videos from the communities affected by mountaintop removal.

“This has revolutionized our thinking,” Hitt said here Wednesday at the Fifth International Symposium on Digital Earth. “It’s given us the ability to give the kind of tour of the mountains that we only could give previously to the media or government officials. This gives an audience of 200 million people,” she said.

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