I am proud to have been a Pennsylvania coal miner.  However, after having told this to someone recently, he replied “Shame on you.”  To whom does this shame belong?

Our society relies on natural resources every minute of every day.  I take it very personally when people blame miners, loggers, and farmers for our environmental problems.  Wouldn’t it be nice if we could live upon this Earth and never need anything but sunshine?  Unfortunately, this is not the reality we in which we live.  It took steel to make the car you drive in, coal to make the electricity you enjoy, and trees to make the house you live in.

If you call yourself an “environmentalist,” what does this mean?  Does it mean you love the Earth?  If so, then I’ve never met a greater environmentalist than the farmers, loggers, and miners who earn their livelihoods from the land.  These men and women take personal responsibility for the impact they have on the Earth.   If this is the case, then I assure you that the majority of today’s local loggers, farmers, and miners take on more than their fair share of liability and responsibility in Pennsylvania.

Perhaps our focus needs to be on ourselves?  Why do people harvest natural resources from the land? These natural resources are harvested we are lined up by the millions to buy the products made from the lumber, metal, fiber, and plastic they produce!  This is the truth: American loggers, miners, and farmers follow some of the strictest environmental and humanitarian regulations in the world.  Do other countries follow these same rules?  No. An example of this is China.  In 2002, 5791 Chinese coal miners died while working in the mines.*  In addition, there horrific environmental damage is being done to China’s natural areas.**    When we shut down American producers and imports from these countries, what does it say about our humanitarian and environmental values?

So what is an “environmentalist” to do, protest against American producers and import from countries that have no regulations, or should we support American farms, logging, and mining while living a conservation-minded life?
 
 

*Sources: Official figures; IEA and China Labor Bulletin
**See March 2004 National Geographic lead story.  “China’s Growing Pains.”