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For those unfamiliar with above ground mining (strip mining is no longer used to mine coal), the land mined is almost always uninhabitable die to harsh slopes. However, mining companies are required by law to reclaim the land mined and as a result the land is landscaped so that it is prime real estate for housing developments, parks, and golf courses.

The Wilds is a private, non-profit conservation center located on nearly 10,000 acres of reclaimed mine land in rural southeastern Ohio. It was created as the conservation center of the future by a group of civic leaders, political leaders and zoo professionals who believed that a serious scientific approach was required to find solutions to environmental concerns.

From its inception, the Wilds has been envisioned as a facility that combines cutting-edge conservation science and education programs with unique visitor opportunities.

The Wilds .

"the land mined is almost always uninhabitable due to harsh slopes"

You are confusing mountain top mining and strip mining.

For those unfamiliar with Luminant, it is part of Energy Future Holdings which is the company formed as the result of the leveraged buyout of TXU a few years ago. This was the largest LBO in US history and it took two private equity firms to pull it off.

EFH is one of many, including Sarah Palin and T. Boone Pickens, who didn't get it right on the price of natural gas

This story gives a double entrende to the term vulture capitalism. First: LBOs, corporate raiders, vulture capitalism. Second: Luminant being the vulture waiting for these old people to die.

Luminant is having severe emissions problems from burning the soft brown lignite, but they are so far in debt they don't have the money to burn the bituminous coal imported from the Powder River.