Garzweiler open pit mine

For years, the lignite mine of Garzweiler has been a case for the courts. Now Germany's Supreme Court in Karlsruhe has decided: The constitutional rights of one of the plaintiffs had indeed been breached. In future, citizens must be able to file complaints against expropriations and resettlements at an earlier stage. At the same time, the court gave the general go-ahead for further mining.

Lignite, or brown, coal, which on the plains of the Rhine river can be found on or just below the earth's surface, is removed by giant excavators. The black chunks, are then transported on long conveyor belts to be put in storage. The blocks of coal will later be burned in power plants and converted into electricity.

"Elbow grease" no longer suffices to extract the enormous quantities of coal from the open pit mines. Instead, machines carry out the work - with the help of just a handful of workers. As parked cars in the background illustrate, the gargantuan excavators are so huge they stretch the imagination.

The Garzweiler mine covers an area of 114 square kilometers (44 square miles). Sitting alongside it is the Frimmersdorf power plant, one of Europe's ten worst "climate killers." Lignite coal releases more carbon dioxide than any other energy source, but much of Germany is dependent on it.

Open pit mines are increasingly devouring land once populated by people. That has created a backlash, like here, in this temporary camp set up by the German chapter of Friends of the Earth (BUND). Yet, as passionate as their protests were, they came to nothing. When the excavators arrive, people have to go.

Lately, there have been rumors that German energy giant RWE plans to pull out early from the Garzweiler II mine - by 2017 or 2018 rather than 2045. Those affected remain skeptical. They doubt that the publicly-traded energy concern would willingly give up the lucrative brown coal business. Years of fruitless demonstrations have contributed to the sense of resignation.

An abandoned village dies slowly. One house after the other is first discarded, sitting empty before finally coming apart, like here, in the rural district of Borschemich in the city of Erkelenz. The psychological pressure on the last remaining inhabitants simply becomes too much to bear. Though locals were resettled, no house can replace a home.

The sign is deceptive: There's no sign of a "Baustelle," or construction site, in the area. Instead, the town will be scraped clean. The sound of children playing doesn't exist here anymore. The village of Pesch, also near Erkelenz, is gone.

Only those with nerves of steel should consider visiting these towns. Calling them "ghost towns" is something of a euphemism. In reality, they're sad and depressing. This house belongs to Spenrath village, which stood in the way of the Garzweiler II excavators. The latest court ruling gives the go-ahead for its exploitation until 2045.

For a moment, nature holds the energy concern at bay. Not for long, though, with excavators soon to arrive. In this final stage of "resettling," the remaining buildings creates a picturesque scene for photographers - or for those on the lookout for morbid place settings.

The village of Immerath had been around since the 12th century. But its 826th birthday was also its last. The mining forced Immerath's 400 inhabitants to pack up and relocate to "greener pastures" at "New Immerath" pictured here.

The rush for coal doesn't just drive people away - it also drives away other life forms, like here, at the Hambach mine. Little grows in the lifeless wasteland. One of the largest forested areas in Germany's largest state, North Rhine-Westphalia, once stood here. The moonscape will be made liveable again, but it will take decades before a new recreational lake is created.

As Germany's "energy turnaround" takes hold - a plan that will shutter the country's nuclear reactors by 2022 and source 80 percent of its energy from renewables by 2050 - conventional power plants will continue. But lignite coal plays no part in the turnaround. Wind energy, however, like that generated at the Jüchen wind farm near Garzweiler is a clean alternative.

Whether or not lignite coal's days are numbered here along the Rhine, nature and local residents will feel its effects for a long time to come. Protests continue, both against the RWE energy company and its mining subsidiary, Rheinbraun. For the people of Keyenberg the protests are close to home: The threat of resettlement hangs over them.