I rarely gave coal a thought or regarded it as anything more than a resource that miners extract from the mountains of West Virginia and Pennsylvania. With no miners or power plant operators in my family tree, coal was merely an abstract something that powered the electricity that kept my lights burning and my furnace and appliances running. However, yesterday’s protest against U.S. coal exports to China, held in Pioneer Courthouse Square in Portland, Oregon, has caught my attention.
Please click on this link to an OregonLive.com article about the May 7, 2012 rally. I’m going to research the dangers of coal pollution, and I urge you to do the same. We shouldn’t create more opportunities for contamination of our precious environment.
Yes, I’ve known the dangers of burning coal. I grew up in Ohio, and back then almost every home was heated by coal. I thought we had become wise enough not to use coal anymore. But I guess there is always someone trying to repeat history.