Local residents’ lived experiences of energy sprawl in West Virginia. A visual exploration of landscape change

West Virginia, sitting fully in the eastern US region of Appalachia, has a long history of resource extraction, including salt, timber, coal and oil. In the late 2000s, gas became another popular resource, obtained through hydraulic fracturing. The once-hilly landscape has been flattened, valleys have been filled, and caves have been dug all because of extraction. In this photo essay we document the latest manifestation of landscape change that local communities have experienced: pipeline development. Pipelines have been put in place across the state, given ever-improving hydraulic fracturing technology and subsequent national and international consumption that requires transportation. This photo essay shows the landscape changes that West Virginia has undergone through the eyes and words of residents. We present data gathered through 33 interviews and visual methods that illustrate the destruction of scenery and memories through erosion, as well as everyday challenges to property access during construction.