Duke University Researchers, Appalachian Voices And Sky Truth Have Teamed Up To Develop An Analytic Tool That Marks The Environmental Footprint Of Surface Coal Mining And Mountaintop Mining In Central Appalachia. The Research Found Since The 1970’s, The Total Amount Of Land Cleared Totaled Three Times The Size Of The Entire Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Skytruth Geospatial Analyst, Christian Thomas, Said This Is Impeding Native Forest Habitats’ Abilities To Re-Establish Themselves And Leads To Poor Air Quality That Can Cause Various Human Illnesses And Birth Defects. The Figures Also Revealed It Takes Three Times As Much Work To Get The Same Amount Of Coal Today Compared To The 1980s.