The recent explosion at the Upper Big Branch coal mine in my home county of Raleigh, which killed 29 West Virginians and injured 2 others, has brought West Virginia statewide sorrow and worldwide attention.
Reflecting on President John F. Kennedy's death, Robert F. Kennedy once said: "Tragedy is a tool for the living to gain wisdom."
As we seek to understand how and why the Upper Big Branch disaster occurred, we might also re-examine conventional wisdom about the future of the coal industry in our state.
Americans depend mightily on our coal to meet their energy needs. Coal is the major source of electricity in 32 states, and produces roughly half of all the electricity consumed in the United States.
As West Virginians, our birthright is coal. The ancient fossil is abundant here, and is as emblematic of our heritage and cultural identity as the black bear, the cardinal, and the rhododendron.
Indeed, the coal severance tax codifies the philosophy that the coal belongs to all West Virginians, and that they deserve meaningful compensation for its extraction. This philosophy has also been embraced nationwide, through the Black Lung Excise Tax, the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fee, and several other existing and proposed programs that provide additional compensation to the people and places that produce our coal, oil, gas, and other energy resources.
Coal brings much needed jobs and revenue to our economy. But the industry has a larger footprint, including inherent responsibilities that must be acknowledged by the industry.
First and foremost, the coal industry must respect the miner and his family. A single miner's life is certainly worth the expense and effort required to enhance safety. West Virginia has some of the highest quality coal in the world, and mining it should be considered a privilege, not a right. Any company that establishes a pattern of negligence resulting in injuries and death should be replaced by a company that conducts business more responsibly. No doubt many energy companies are keen for a chance to produce West Virginia coal.
The industry of coal must also respect the land that yields the coal, as well as the people who live on the land. If the process of mining destroys nearby wells and foundations, if blasting and digging and relocating streams unearths harmful elements and releases them into the environment causing illness and death, that process should be halted and the resulting hazards to the community abated.
The sovereignty of West Virginia must also be respected. The monolithic power of industry should never dominate our politics to the detriment of local communities. Our coal mining communities do not have to be marked by a lack of economic diversity and development that can potentially squelch the voice of the people. People living in coal communities deserve to have a free hand in managing their own local affairs and public policies without undue political pressure to submit to the desires of industry.
We have coal companies in West Virginia which go out of their way to operate safely and with minimal impact on our environment. Those companies should be commended and rewarded.
But the coal industry has an immensely powerful lobby in Washington and in Charleston. For nearly a hundred years they have come to our presidents, our members of Congress, our legislators, our mayors, and our county commissioners to demand their priorities. It is only right that the people of West Virginia speak up and make the coal industry understand what is expected of it in return.
The old chestnut that "coal is West Virginia's greatest natural resource" deserves revision. I believe that our people are West Virginia's most valuable resource. We must demand to be treated as such.
Coal mining - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mine rescue effort turns to recovery - Life- msnbc.com
West Virginia coal mine still too toxic for rescue mission ...
Massey wants public hearing into mine disaster
Utah coal mine with Colorado ties shut down due to dangerous methane levels
I couldn't agree with you more. But if that's what you want for the people of West Virginia you can't leave them in the hands of utter tyrants who care about nothing but money.
You need strong effective oversight of the operators. Remember - "Trust but verify"?
Secondly you need really, really strong Unions. etc. etc. etc.
And the the present operators must be put behind bars locked up and the keys thrown away.
If the Senate were functional, there would be a lot of great ideas for America. Our system of government has delivered what we have and only a change to that system will bring change for our country. I wish people would open their eyes before saying that we have the greatest system in the world. We have the greatest system in the world if you are rich.
Solar wind and waste bio fuels can supply all the world energy: clean, safe, cheaper in the long run3-6 cents, and at 50-100% grow rates able replace ALL fossil and nukes in 12 years.
This will need us to end all fossil and nuke subsides, break, insurance, new permits, and plow as least as much money into green energy deployment.”
"Make the most you can of the Indian Hemp seed and sow it everywhere." George Washington
"Hemp is of first necessity to the wealth & protection of the country." Thomas Jefferson
The issue of hemp’s true potential has been virtually ignored by the mainstream media but if one does a search on the Internet, an abundance of information on the truth can be found. One statement claims that if just 6% of the land in America was dedicated to growing Hemp, we could produce enough bio-fuel to cover our energy needs.
During World War II, the Department of Agriculture mounted a campaign urging farmers to grow Hemp for the war effort and produced a short film entitled “Hemp for Victory.” Yet after the war, Hemp was once again banned as a legal crop.
We need to put end one of the greatest travesties in American history and make Industrial Hemp a legal crop to provide the country with new industries and jobs for Americans that will lead to energy independence. Our Canadian neighbors woke-up to the value of Hemp over a decade ago. How long must American farmers wait to grow this precious resource?
Now...what about the rest of our state and federal legistature?
They have been completly silent up to this point.
• “I do not think it is an exaggeration at all to say to my friend from west Virginia (sen Robert byrd a kkk recruiter) that he would have been a great senator at any moment. He would have been right during the great conflict of the civil war in this nation”. Sen chris dodd 2004
• Byrd led the filibuster of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and, according to the United States Senate's own website, filibustered the legislation to the bitter end appearing as one of the last opponents to the act before a coalition of civil rights proponents led by Republican Minority Leader Everett Dirksen invoked cloture so that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 could pass.
• Byrd uttered the (n word) slur on Fox News Sunday with Tony Snow on March 5, 2001. Despite the appalling nature of the remark, it went largely ignored by the mainstream media and the self appointed "civil rights" leadership. Whereas a similar remark by anyone other than a leading Democrat Senator would assuredly prompt the likes of Jesse Jackson to assemble protest rallies demanding resignations, the Jackson crowd was eerily quiet following Byrd's remarks, issuing only low key suggestions that Byrd should avoid making such bigoted remarks.