In Burning the Future: Coal in America, writer/director David Novack examines the explosive conflict between the coal industry and residents of West Virginia.  Confronted by emerging "clean coal"  energy policies, local activists watch a world blind to the devastation caused by coal's extraction.  Faced with toxic ground water, the obliteration of 1.4 million acres of mountains, and a government that appeases industry, courageous residents demonstrate a strength of purpose and character in their improbable fight to arouse the nation's help in protecting their mountains, saving their families, and preserving their way of life.