Surface mining that blasts away mountain tops to reveal the underlying coal has turned many small West Virginian communities into ghost towns, literally inverting their eco-systems. Emissions from old coal smokestacks in Chicago create thick layers of dust and are believed to cause asthma. The voices of women in these communities is being brought to the forefront during two Gender and Climate Justice Tribunals, the first in the North America organised by the Feminist Task Force of the Global Call to Action Against Poverty.