Mining Misery

Mining Misery

IS OUR DEPENDENCE ON COAL WORTH THE STEEP PRICE WE PAY?IS OUR DEPENDENCE ON COAL WORTH THE STEEP PRICE WE PAY?

: 09/09/07
Underground coal miners work in the darkness, invisible to most of us, and when they die — also in the darkness, from methane explosions or rock falls or any of the hundreds of other hazards they face every day — their deaths usually merit just a few paragraphs in the local newspaper.
The attempted rescue of trapped coal miners, on the other hand, is often headline news. Networks love the real-time drama of the rescue efforts. It’s reality TV from the heartland, complete with anguished family members, heroic workers and dodgy mine owners. Sometimes, these stories have happy endings. In 2002, nine miners who were trapped in a coal mine in Quecreek, Pa., for 77 hours emerged as celebrities, feted by Oprah and photographed for Vanity Fair magazine.

But not every mine rescue turns out so well, as the Crandall Canyon mine disaster near Huntington, Utah, has reminded us over the past four weeks. When three rescuers were killed trying to dig out the six miners who have been trapped since Aug. 6, the story turned, as Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. put it, “from a tragedy into a catastrophe.”

In the coming months, tough questions will be asked about exactly what happened in the Crandall Canyon mine: Did federal mine safety officials do everything they could to protect the miners? Did Robert Murray, the co-owner of the mine, value profits over human life? And why, at the beginning of the 21st century, when we can download real-time images from Mars onto our laptop computers, has no one figured out a way to track or communicate with coal miners underground? “This is a defining moment for the history of mining,” Huntsman said. “We all expect to come out of this better and smarter and safer.”

But if history is any guide, straightforward answers to what happened in Utah will be as rare as oxygen in the collapsed mine. We can expect a hue and cry about mine safety on Capitol Hill, a lot of blame-shifting and fingerpointing and, most likely, some modest mine safety improvements. But you can bet that you won’t hear much about the real issue, which is the high cost of U.S. dependence on coal, and whether it’s worth the price we pay.

Many Americans think that coal went out with top hats and corsets. In fact, we burn more than a billion tons of coal each year in the United States — about 20 pounds a day for every man, woman and child. We don’t burn it in coal stoves, of course, but in big power plants that generate about half the electric power in the country.

Politically, the war in Iraq has been a boon for coal, allowing coal-friendly politicians to tout America’s 250-year supply as a substitute for our addiction to Middle Eastern oil — even though, in the real world, there is no overlap between coal (used to generate electricity) and oil (used for transportation fuels, among other things).

This is not to say that the coal industry would not dearly love to get into America’s gas tank. In recent months, it has pushed hard for subsidies and tax breaks that would accelerate the construction of coal-to-liquid plants, a technology developed by the Nazis during the 1930s that can transform coal into liquid fuels such as diesel. For technical reasons, it’s very difficult to make gasoline from coal.

Coal boosters argue that today’s industry is nothing like the industry of yore, and that many of the problems with the fuel — like the fact that air pollution from power plants kills people — have been solved by new technology. Coal is cheap, plentiful and clean, they say. What’s not to like?

Mine disasters such as the one in Utah, however, don’t exactly fit this script. It’s tough to argue that you’ve left the 19th century behind when you have Murray — one of the most prominent coal barons in the United States, well known for his political connections and influence — insisting that the collapse was caused by an earthquake, directly contradicting seismologists who say that their instruments clearly show that the seismic activity was the result of the collapse in the mine. It may not surprise you that Murray also believes global warming is a hoax.

Claims about a 250-year supply of coal won’t stand up to scrutiny for long, either. Yes, the United States has more coal than any other nation. But we’ve been mining coal in this country for 150 years — all the simple, highquality, easy-to-get stuff is gone. What’s left is buried beneath towns and national parks, or places that are difficult, expensive and dangerous to mine. The blunt truth is, if we’re going to become more dependent on coal, more miners will die. How many mining tragedies will we accept in the name of “cheap” electricity?

Digging up hard-to-get coal will also devastate Appalachia, where huge mountaintop-removal mines have already buried 700 miles of streams and 400,000 acres of forests. Mountaintopremoval is a particularly destructive form of mining in which entire mountains are blasted apart to expose the coal seams inside; the rubble is typically dumped in nearby valleys.

Instead of strengthening oversight of this type of mining, the Bush administration proposed last month to loosen regulations and allow it to expand.
One recent study estimated that if this practice continues, within 40 years the region disemboweled by mining will be approximately the size of Rhode Island.

As for “clean coal,” it’s a nice advertising slogan, but it’s not a statement of fact. According to Americans for Balanced Energy Choices, a nonprofit group funded by coal companies and coal-burning electric utilities, emissions of conventional pollutants from coal plants have fallen by one-third between 1970 and 2000, even as the use of coal to generate electricity has tripled. What they don’t tell you is that the industry fought the laws that mandated many of those reductions, and that the amount of pollution spewed out by a coal plant is still enormous.

According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, a scientific advocacy group, annual emissions from a typical coal plant include 10,000 tons of sulfur dioxide, the major cause of acid rain; 10,200 tons of nitrogen oxide, a major contributor to smog; 500 tons of small particles, which cause lung damage and other respiratory problems; 225 pounds of arsenic; 114 pounds of lead; and many other toxic heavy metals, including 48 tons of mercury, which can cause birth defects, brain damage and other ailments.

But the big issue is global warming. Burning coal accounts for more than one-third of U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas. In a single year, a big coal plant emits as much carbon dioxide as 1 million SUVs. Coal plants that are built today emit just as much carbon dioxide as those that were built 50 years ago.

There have been some marginal gains in efficiency, but not many. In the future, carbon dioxide might be captured from coal plants and pumped underground into abandoned oil wells or deep saline aquifers, but at the moment, these solutions are unproven and expensive.
The coal industry is soaking up billions of dollars in tax breaks and subsidies to develop technology and study the problem. But according to climate scientists such as NASA’s James Hansen, if we hope to have a chance of avoiding dangerous changes to Earth’s climate, we don’t have time to wait.

That’s why Hansen, along with former vice president Al Gore and others, has called for a moratorium on new coal plants that do not capture and store carbon dioxide pollution.
And that’s why Silicon Valley entrepreneurs are investing hundreds of millions of dollars into clean-energy technology — because they know that confronting the problem of global warming is not just the biggest challenge that civilization has ever faced, but also the mother of all economic opportunities.

It may seem like a long way from the melting Arctic to the mine disaster in Utah, but it’s not. The lesson from Crandall Canyon is not just that we need stronger mine safety laws and better federal oversight of dangerous mines, but that as Americans, we need to be more conscious of the costs and consequences of what goes on behind the light switch. Otherwise, instead of coming out of this disaster smarter, stronger and safer, we’re likely to find ourselves repeating this story again and again.

Jeff Goodell is a contributing editor at Rolling Stone magazine and the author of “Big Coal: The Dirty Secret Behind America’s Energy Future.”

Strike Prayers

Strike Prayers

Opening prayer:
Almighty and Ever-loving God, yours are all things in heaven and on earth and under the earth; mercifully hear the urgent supplications of your people, stay the hand of the violent, and grant us peace—
A peace that is well won, either through fire or by the pen, but grant us peace.
—That those who live by the sweat of their brow may live justly and whole and with a fair reward that is more than due them.
At this very hour and in our very hands You, oh, Lord have placed a power greater than that which has vanquished a thousand foes, a power more commanding than any slave's chain, a power more fierce than any of man's pretentious ways and barriers.
For today, oh Lord, you have given us solidarity.

Let us be blessed
Let our families be blessed
Let our gathered allies be blessed
And let us stand together to overcome evil, for if we stand together we shall withstand all – all! – that they will throw at us.
Lord, in whatever storms that life may hold, give us:
Ears with which to hear
A heart of courage
Strength in our legs for the journey
And power in our arms for the fight

Our great God and high commander of the angelic host of heaven, be a guard for our Union Leadership and grant them peace, foresight, sound judgment and defense. Hold not back the heavenly host and let them fight along side of us as they did for the prophets, surrounding our enemies with chariots of fire and keeping the flood of evil back.
Bless and keep our President, the man chosen for this very hour, for this very Union. Bless him and keep him from all harm and grant him the ability to more assuredly lead this people on towards the victory.
Lord, we will win this fight today
And if it is at home, we will win

Or if the altar is where we meet, we will have victory
Or if the battle is engaged in the boardroom, or with the government men, or at the picket line —

We will triumph! If we have made a place in our hearts for you, and if with our hearts we have stood with our Union.
Lord, we place into your hands our fortunes and our souls and our very lives. For it is in you that we move, live, and have our very existence.
In that name of Jesus Christ,
Amen




Closing Prayer:
God, our Father in Heaven, keep safe those who have a distance to travel, be an encourager to us, and let not our hearts and minds be troubled as we begin this journey unto victory.
Lord, how fitting it is that this battle is occurring on this week, of all weeks, for tradition maintains that this is Holy Week. Custom tells us that within just a few hours, you would be dragged from the government's hall, and crushed by the might of the Roman heal. The prophet spoke concerning you, saying that you would be beaten, crushed, whipped, and torn to a bloody mess so much so that you would not be recognized as a mortal man—
But, you oh Lord, had already won the day — even when the darkness had seemed to prevail — for in but a few days you had triumphed over death, claiming victory and destroying the bonds of oppression that for so long have wrapped the human race in filthy rags of injustice an unrighteousness.
Lord, let all of those that stand against us, all of those that would rage against us, and all of those that believe that they have seen the last of the United Mine Workers of America — let them know that we are here, we will never leave, we will never back down, and we will never stop pursuing justice, for it is by the grace of God that we will do such things,
For it is by the grace of God that the United Mine Workers of America will stand, stand strong, and stand forever.
Humbly we pray,
In the name of Jesus Christ,
Amen.

Suspect sought in Wyoming County strip mine arson

Suspect sought in Wyoming County strip mine arson

COAL MOUNTAIN --
A $27,500 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of an arsonist who torched more than $5 million worth of equipment at a strip mine in Wyoming County.Two end-loaders worth $2.2 million apiece and another one valued at $750,000 were declared a total loss following the Monday night fire at Dynamic Energy Strip Mine in Coal Mountain, state Fire Marshal's Office spokeswoman Kim O'Brien said Thursday.

The blaze was ruled an arson on Tuesday, she said.
An adult male driving a black ATV with red stripes and chrome rims was seen in the area just before the fire.

Bluestone Coal, which owns Dynamic Energy, is offering a $25,000 reward. The Fire Marshal's Office is kicking in another $2,500.
The toll free, 24-hour arson hot line is (800) 233-FIRE.

Miner Trapped, Rescued

Miner Trapped, Rescued
WSAZ-TV - Huntington,WV,USA
September 7, 2007
A Boone County coal miner was trapped for some time Thursday evening at a local mine before being rescued and flown to an area hospital.
It happened in the Boone County town of Cazy at Jupiter Mine.
Volunteer firefighters and dispatchers tell NewsChannel 3 the miner was trapped, but crews were able to rescue him.
The miner's name and condition are not being released.
He was flown to CAMC General for treatment.
No immediate word on what caused the miner to be trapped.

Thief swipes plaque honoring miner who died in Sago disaster

Thief swipes plaque honoring miner who died in Sago disaster

Charleston Daily Mail

September 7, 2007
A thief pried a metal plaque memorializing Sago miner George Junior Hamner from a stone at Indian Camp Normal in Upshur County.
Hamner, 54, was one of 12 miners that died last year in the Sago Mine disaster.
"I will give a reward if somebody provides me with information," said Tom Hamner, the miner's brother.
Tom said he designed the plaque and lives close to where it's hung since April 2006.
The plaque is 11 inches by 11 inches square. It carries George Hamner's name, birth date, date of death and identifies him as a Sago miner, brother, father and friend.
The plaque also shows a deer head and fish to symbolize Hamner's love of the outdoors; a crown symbolizing his affection for an occasional nip of Crown Royal whiskey; and a bunch of grapes depicting his penchant for making wine.
Below all this is written: "One of us."
Tom said he doesn't know who might have taken the plaque. But he has some theories.
"Number one, they stole it because they liked my brother," he said. "The second thing is perhaps they done it out of spite because they knew him and didn't like him or the family; or they thought it was copper and that they might sell and get some money out of it."
The family believes the plaque was stolen sometime between Tuesday and Friday last week. Indian Camp Normal is an open park and community center that is not monitored by security.
The camp is about 13 miles south of Buckhannon.
Anyone with information is being advised to call the Buckhannon detachment of the State Police at 473-4200.

The Miners

The Miners
THIS IS A NEWSPAPER ADD FROM THE EVANSVILLE COURIER. I LOVE IT!

I was part of the newspapers coverage last Friday, when three men died inside a Gibson County, Ind. Coal Mine.
News of the accident was reported on national cable television stations and frequently updated throughout the afternoon and evening.
On-air talent and camera crews from tv stations-including several satelite trucks from Indianapolis-parked themselves at our cordoned off spot on the dusty road about a mile and a half from the ill fated air shaft.
The thought hit. What if three equally non-famouse people died in a house fire? or a car crash?
Would CNN and MSNBC be all over the story? Would news media from 160 miles away race to the scene to beam firast hand accounts?
I dont think so.
There's something about the haunting spector of working 1,000 feet below ground that mesmorizes most of us. The crawling around in low coal. The possibility of a roof fall. The possibility of being buried alive or dying an even more horrible death from running out of oxygen.
We cant imagine doing such a job for even five minutes. We readily concede that men who get coal out of the ground-or those who assist those that do-are much braver than we will ever be.
When something bad happened as it did in Utah and a week later in Southern Indiana-we are caught up in the tragic circumstances.
We want to know all about it. We want news reporters mobilized. We want tv satelite trucks from many miles away fired up and on the move.
Maybe there will be a dramatic rescue. Maybe early reports were wrong and nobody was badly hurt.
And if there is a death-even a single soul-we grieve because there is one less courageouse person in the world.
But tell us. Please. Most of us are completely ignorant of almost ever facet of underground mining.
We dont know what the hoist looks like. Or the machines that cut the coal. Or the belt lines.
We dfont understand how muddy it is underground. Or how there can be five miles or more of corridors. Or how a single spark can cause a catastrophe.
We dont know roof-and-pillar mining. We dont know retreat mining.
We can turn on our bedroom lights thanks to the coal thats mined and shipped to power plants. That we do know.
This lack of savvy draws our interest even more.
We've been in cars, we can understand accidents. We've been in houses, we can understand fires. But a dungeon of a coal mine escapes us.
The folks who work there eat there. Nobody rides the shaft up 1,000 feet for such a piddling thing as lunch.
They do without bathrooms, without daylight, without contact from the outside world. When something bad happens underground, miners cant just walk away.
They're trapped.
That we do understand, and it makes us shutter. But tell us about it, please.

IF I DONT MAKE IT OUT

IF I DONT MAKE IT OUT

A Man I work with wrote this. It's about being a underground miner, and his thoughts as he goes to work each morning. If your and underground miner, and have a family, I guess we can all relate.

IF I DONT MAKE IT OUT
If I dont make it out today, Lord, it's been a good run. I've had a pretty good life even thought I'm not proud of some things I've done.
If I dont make it out today, Lord, walk with my wife and kids, for the love I'll never get to show them again, I'm glad I never hid.
If I dont make it out today, Lord, I'll never see my daughter grow, or see the look of love my wifes soft brown eyes, or ever again get to tell her, i love you so.
If I dont make it out today, Lord, Hold my daughter near, and please make me her gaurdian angel, so I can still take away her fears.
If I dont make it out today, Lord, Let my wife always feel me in her heart, and let her know even though I've come to my death, I'll never part.
If I dont make it out today, Lord, Let them all know I wasnt scared, for I was doing what was making a good life for my family, and Lord, I was prepared.
I love this poem I guess you would call it. I guess this is what we all feel when we go underground. I'm so glad I have a beutiful wife and daughter to come home to everyday, it makes being a miner, much, much easier. I love you guys.