Those who oppose mining, mountain top destruction, longwall or any other kind, are on the losing side. Wonder why that might be? Me too. How can something so catastrophic to human life not be seen by any and everyone as something that should be stopped?
Marie's (Mother) favorite saying to me as a kid, besides, "Stop that!!" was, "Common Sense is not common," taken from Mr. Voltaire. Therein, it seems to me, lies the problem. Folks who run mining operations are not thinking in the same way as most of us. The things that seem important to them are far, far removed from those things the rest of us consider to be important.
Profits. It is the all pervasive thinking of people in mining. It has nothing to do with anything else. They will do whatever they deem necessary to get the coal so as to make a profit. Destruction of peoples homes, farms and ranches through the use of mountain top destruction and longwall mining is a small price to pay for coal/profit.
That what they do is in fact destroying peoples lives and livelihood is of the same importance as flies in the dining facility. Both should be removed as quickly and with as little fanfare as possible, so as to continue the operation at hand.
It is indeed a pity that Common Sense is not Common. And, among those who seem to be the least capable of understanding that, are the coal mining companies who are doing the most damage to the people and planet.
2 comments:
Although I hate what they are doing to the people, the land, and the water in the coalfields, I can at least understand the profit motive of the coal companies and the utilities. We think they should "care" about what they are doing, but in the end they are corporations, not people, even if the law recognizes them as "individuals" (that's another whole rant). What they “care” about is not what you and I and other real people care about.
What I can't understand, however, is the motive of the federal and state agencies, whose mission and legislated obligation is to protect the environment, or to protect the consumer, or to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public. There are plenty of organizations, and even Commerce-oriented agencies, whose main function is to promote business in general and coal in particular. That is their purpose, so you can hardly blame them for doing all they can to ensure the continued viability of the coal industry.
But the environmental agencies have a different purpose, a different focus. They are supposed to represent us, they are supposed to protect us, they are supposed to look out for our interests, first and foremost. It’s written into the laws and regulations. They are supposed to be the heavyweights in favor of environmental protection, to provide some balance in the whole process. Are they fulfilling their mission? Not even close! In fact, we seem to spend as much, if not more, time fighting against the agencies who are supposed to protect us as we do fighting against the coal companies themselves. What’s wrong with this picture? Talk about an uneven playing field! When did these agencies switch sides? How did it happen? But I guess the biggest question of all is this: how do we fix this?
Thanks for taking the time to post.
The Environmental folks in our Federal Agencies listen to those who get access. Part of the problem for those of us out here is that we have no access.
You may be interested to know that the npo, "Citizens Coal Council" is filing suit against the Interior Department for not enforcing existing law. That I believe, is one of our most useful tools. It forces them to look at subjects of concern in full view of the public.
We may not have direct access and deep pockets, but we do have some very bright and determined folks on our side.
You may want to visit their website for some further information.
Feel free to join in on the fun. We've absolutely everything to lose.
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