Coal Mine Expansion Threatens Villages

ATTERWASCH, GERMANY - OCTOBER 31: Annalena Baerbock, head of Brandenburg German Greens Party (Buendnis 90/Die Gruenen) speaks at a protest against the expansion of open-pit lignite coal mines at the annual village fest on October 31, 2013 in Atterwasch, Germany. According to plans by Swedish energy conglomerate Vattenfall and approved by the Brandenburg state legislature, Atterwasch and at least four other communities are to be raized and their inhabitants compensated and relocated in order to make way for the expansion of the mines. Energy policy and the role of coal is a heated topic at the moment in coalition negotiations between the Social Democrats (SPD) and Christian Democrats (CDU) currently taking place in Berlin. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)