A supposedly fail-safe system governs mines’ legal obligation to reclaim their local environment. Companies put up money to be held in bonds. If the company cleans up after operations are complete, the money is returned. But if the company walks away, the government can use the bonds to rehabilitate the land.

But does this work in practice? To find out, I helped build first-of-their-kind databases in a project for Climate Home.

Explore the data here: https://www.climatechangenews.com/2018/03/15/us-coal-mines-clean-up-bonds-database/