UNC Chapel Hill is under a lens of scrutiny for their use of mountaintop removal coal. While UNC may be claiming they are avoiding purchasing mountaintop removal coal, public records indicate that their purchasing practices suggest otherwise.

According to “Fact-checking UNC’s Coal Claims,” by Joe Schwartz of The Independent Weekly, “The Red River Mine sold UNC more than 106,000 tons of coal at a cost of $8.4 million from 2007 to 2009, according to university documents. Last year, Red River Mine was the largest supplier to UNC. It is owned by the Red River Coal Company, which has several mines and uses mountaintop removal at some of them…”

Some students are calling for UNC to be clean up their act. In article for The Herald Sun, Stewart Boss, student coordinator for the Coal-Free UNC Campaign said, “UNC is a leading public university that has set a higher standard for environmental stewardship and concern for public welfare than this. Now that the light has been shed on UNC’s link to destructive mining practices, Carolina has a responsibility to disassociate itself from these dirty coal companies.”