Better or Equal Use is a series of photographs made from coal dust that depict former mining sites redeveloped under the Surface-Mining Reclamation Act of 1977 – so far including detention facilities, strip malls and golf courses. This congressional act mandates that after mining is compete, companies reinstate the façade of the mountain or redevelop the site for “better or equal use,” directly weighing the value of a mountain and surrounding communities against other industrial and commercial functions.