Coal Loses Its Grip

Photos by David Goldman The seams of coal in some of Eddie Asbury’s mines in McDowell County are so thin workers can barely squeeze down them. They enter on carts nearly flat on their backs, the roof of the mine coursing by just a few inches in front of their faces. They don’t stand up

When Coal is Over

Photos by David Goldman The rest of the house is just waking as Scottie Sizemore plops down in a rocking chair on his front porch with a cup of coffee. It’s midmorning, but the sun has yet to crest the ridge above, where mist clings like clouds that couldn’t quite make it over.

Iranian Coal Miners

Photos by Ebrahim Noroozi In the coal mines of northern Iran men with their faces smeared black push rusty metal carts down into the earth in grim scenes that seem to belong to another century.