Summer Rayne Oakes visits the Kingston Coal Ash Spill.

Most of the time, we leave our appliances plugged in, our thermostat a few degrees higher than it needs to be, lights in adjoining rooms on…and we don’t think about where our electricity comes from (even as we bitch and moan about wars for oil and put pretty stickers of wind and solar energy on our reusable coffee mugs). Once in awhile, however, we’re reminded that much of our energy is, like nuclear power, neither clean nor disposable.

A month or so ago, the Kingston Coal Ash Spill was a tragedy that a few of us bothered to read about through the noise and buzz of modern media, social and old school. I admit that I myself, a journalist concerned with renewable energy and our environment, never really read a full article about it. So it was with a mixture of gratitude and horror that I came across this video, this morning, with elephant colleague Summer Rayne Oakes documenting her visit to the stricken area.

Video:

Shot for Discovery Live, Huffington Post, and Treehugger.com. Producer: Summer Rayne Oakes