ugh

i've been thinking about coal stuff since the tragedy in WV, and after getting into a debate with someone on a certain blog, i've had to really think about my position on coal.

and i've come to the conclusion that i hate it. not even for environmentally sound reasons.

i'm a child of coal, i guess. i come from at least 3 generations of strong men, coal miners all, who could only make a living from the stuff. i come from a small town in Appalachia that was built and made strong by coal because the mountains are FULL of it, so much so that two of the colleges near my hometown offer degrees that are based around coal. it's been a part of my life since i was just a thought. it's been in my stockings at Christmas as a joke. it's lodged under my father's fingernails, its dust has invaded his lungs, even though he never worked underground. it's responsible for his long nights, his tired eyes, his arthritis and myriad of other medical problems. but it's paid our bills. it's helped put my sister and me through college. it provides for my mom. thankfully, now, my dad's working as an electrician, but he still works at a mine. and my dad is freaking brilliant. but he wanted to stay in harlan, and what is harlan but a coal-mining town?

back in the 60s, harlan was BOOMING. i mean, really booming. so much that my mother fondly remembers all the shops downtown and the bustling crowds. then the 70s hit. we lost coal for a time and that almost ruined us. we were like a smaller version of lexington (horses, university of kentucky, etc), but most of the businesses left because there was no money circulating. it'd be like if you took potatoes away from idaho or something. very NOT good.

so what can we do for a mountain-locked town? wind isn't reasonable because we don't really have any. solar could potentially help. water maybe.

i made a comment that if we take coal away immediately, towns like mine would crumble.

to save a lot of time, typing, and reading, someone referred to me as 'indoctrinated.' no. i'm not. as i just mentioned, i hate/loathe/want done away with coal. the problem is that the money is great, though the hours SUCK, and unless there's a viable alternative available, WITH TRAINING, to these coal miners, then they're not going to make it if the mines close. that's what i meant. argh.