Heart Attacks, Lung Cancers, and Strokes

Heart attacks, lung cancers, and strokes. All three cause debilitating wounds both physical and mental in thousands of humans every year. In many, its worse. They are killed either outright, or through a slow and horribly painful process. Many of these damages or deaths of humans are perpetrated by other humans.

In many of those deaths, we are fully aware of the perpetrator. There is a known connection between the poison that is spewed from coal fired energy plants and the afflictions presented above. It's been known to all for many years.

So why, if the origin is known, would anyone continue to push a technology that causes such terrible ends? Why would anyone claim that there is anything safe, or clean about something that brings such harm and suffering? How could anyone knowingly participate in the death and injury of so many?

Easy answer. Profit. Longwall mining generates huge profits for Consol, Massey, Peabody and other mining companies. The damage they do is of no consequence. Whether it's loss of water for farm animals, a home, or the lungs of another human, none of them have more import than profit.

It will be a long time before we have all of these killing machines shut down. It will be even longer before the damage they continue to cause will be mitigated in any meaningful way.