The human cost of coal, in photos

Steve Hawk and Ami Vitale traveled to the mountains of West Virginia, small-town Michigan, and a reservation in Nevada to match human faces and stories with the cost of coal.

Sisters Aaliya, Ayona, and Zayda Hernandez near their home on the Moapa Band of Paiutes Reservation, about an hour north of Las Vegas. Since 1965, coal ash from the nearby Reid Gardner Generating station has been dumped into uncovered ''ponds'' less than a half mile from their neighborhood. *Ami Vitale / Panos Pictures*

Writer Steve Hawk and photographer Ami Vitale traveled to the mountains of West Virginia, small-town Michigan, and a reservation in Nevada to match human faces and stories with the cost of coal. The resulting photos and interviews appeared in Sierra, the Sierra Club’s monthly magazine. We picked out some of our favorite shots (you can check out the full slideshows and interviews here).

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