LETTERS TO THE
EDITOR
THE VOICE OF EXPERIENCE
Dear Review;
It made no sense
when two fossils like Bush and Cheney said that coal was their choice to
move forward and meet the future energy needs of our country. I did
think most Americans would consider the source of this obtuse rhetoric
and move in the opposite direction. With the new push to build even
more coal fired plants in our state, color me confused!
I grew up in a
company owned coal mining town in Pennsylvania. It was the prototype
for pre-union company towns owned by Bethlehem Steele. My
father, grandfather and other relatives worked in this mine. Before I
was born my grandfather lost his voice box to cancer and talked through
a pipe he put into a valve in a hole in his neck. He died of black
lung. My dad worked in the "washer" but put himself through trade
school to become an electrician, get a job with GM and move his wife and
six children to Michigan to give them a better life - ironic huh?
In a coal town
there is constant soot in the air from the mining, moving, handling and
transportation of coal. The acid "wash" process that makes coal
marketable creates a sludge or muck. Ponds of that tar-like substance
dotted the outskirts of our town. Like the one that breached it's
holding tank recently and covered an entire town. Then there's the slag
slate or red dog that permeates the veins of coal that is not usable or
viable, so piles of that were all around firing up every once in a while
because of the combustible sulfur gasses it contained - ahhh the aroma!
I believe
everybody should educate themselves about coal; the mining of,
processing of, transportation of and all the oh so wonderful by-products
it leaves for us to contend with.
By the way, years
ago the mine in my hometown closed because a conveyor caught fire and
nearly blew up the whole town before they capped it off. Everybody was
pink slipped and told it could be ten or 110 years before it burned
itself out. It's still burning.
In the meantime
Bethlehem Steele, one of the giants of industry building 77% of all
ships for WW I and WW II and inventing and developing formed steel for
the age of skyscrapers is now defunct. It's empty buildings and
properties are now being sought by corporations for casinos - more
irony.
WHY are they
defunct? When Europe and Asia were rebuilt by our country after the big
wars to a new and modern state of free-rolled steel, Bethlehem Steele
refused and failed to modernize. This relates to our present and our
failure to think ten years down the road and not cling to the
Neanderthal greediness of tomorrow's bottom line.
The future of
humanity is too high a price to pay for instant gratification.
Sue Kennedy |
