Now Streaming: "Running for the Mountains"

Dark money, dirty politics and reckless deregulation have turned West Virginia into a devastated, toxic wasteland where corporations run amok.

But when citizen activists set out to hold Senator Joe Manchin accountable during his final term, they find West Virginians across the political spectrum joining together to protect their land and their lives – fighting oligarchy and staking a new direction for our country's future.

Running for the Mountains is an eye-opening documentary that reveals how fossil fuel extraction and deregulation have irreparably harmed Appalachia and set the stage for environmental destruction nationally. Dynamic footage and undercover scenes show politicians and industry pitted against citizens defending their resources, health and communities. The film powerfully argues that environmentalism is an essential patriotic duty.

Running for the Mountains tells a cautionary tale of the rough and tumble politics and reckless policies that dominate West Virginia and are now being exported to the rest of the nation. Transcending party lines, the filmmakers’ 15 year investigation unveils a corrupt web of influence, including the ties between extractive industries and West Virginia's politicians, like former Senator Joe Manchin, whose policies have subjected the state to toxic air, water and land.

Weaving a blend of history, current affairs, and cinema verité, Running for the Mountains questions West Virginia’s saga of patriotic sacrifice while delivering surprising undercover scenes that make clear who their politicians are working for and who really pays the cost of these devastating priorities. The policies of this one state affect us all.

In 2008, Northern California producers/directors Julie Eisenberg and Babette Hogan determined that they would tell a political story about America.

Their travels landed them all the way across the country in West Virginia, where environmental and political activists battled to save their state from destruction at the hands of the extractive industries. While depicting the environmental toll on the state’s people, land, water and air, they discovered a bigger story about how one small state has a huge impact on the energy policies of the entire United States.