Why are we stuck in the past?
"Miners found dead" Once again this month I turned on the news to see a repeat tradgety in our countries coal mines. This is once again devastating news of miners trapped from unexpected hazards below ground. I want to send out my dearest regards to the family's who were apart of this tragedy this past weekend and I hope that they can find forgiveness to those of us who still rely heavily on fossil fuels. This brings me to my question. Why are we still using coal... What good does it do. Its dirty, and just plain old fashion. I dont know exactly off hand but isn't a large part of Pennsylvania ruined by burning underground coal mines...? What a waste of land and yet we still send men underground to gather up this black gold that just doesn't seem to do any good. I thought maybe we rely on coal because it was a cheap form of fuel. But this is not so. The money it cost to handle and clean up its effects end up being substantially more costly then other fuels.
One health example of coal that just makes me cringe; The long-term exposure to dust in the hard coal mining industry can lead to various pathological lung changes, especially to chronic bronchitis without and with obstructive ventilation disorder, lung emphysema, pneumoconiosis (coal miner's pneumoconiosis, in Germany categorized as silicosis) and silicotuberculosis. These health disorders show a close pathogenetic and pathophysiological association and should not necessarily be regarded as individual entities. Most exposed subjects demonstrate more or less all of these pathological disorders. On account of individual (genetic?) susceptibility, their degree differs greatly. Some individuals are largely resistent, other subjects show severe effects like emphysema, progressive massive pneumoconiosis, or the Caplan syndrome. Several studies showed that the pathologically verified degree of lung fibrosis is associated with lung crystalline SiO(2) content whereas the emphysema score is inversely correlated with the coal content. With regard to diagnostics and medical expert opinion, it is important that conventional radiology has a low sensitivity. Further, health impairments of miners engaged for longtime which are insurance relevant (MdE) exist in cases without (BK 4111 if beginning after 12/31/1992) or with coalworkers' pneumoconiosis even for categories. Yet even after this is pretty well known by many we still send people down in these conditions.
If your still reading then you probably agree that this is something that needs to stop. Gov. Joe Manchin of West Virginia said he was planning to introduce mine-safety bills in the state Legislature and to lobby the U.S. Congress to enact more mine-safety laws. Also along those same lines he said he intends ensure there are ample oxygen stations within mines and making sure rescuers have the means to respond as rapidly as possible.
Anyway on another note, D and I spend a great deal of time together yesterday mostly downtown. It was another spring like day here in Boston with Bostonians filling the parks and lining the streets. After a day of exploration we ended up at the movies to see "Walk the Line" a great film about Jonny Cash. If you have not seen it I highly recommend it. Walk the Line Staring Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon (she is amazing in this film)
One health example of coal that just makes me cringe; The long-term exposure to dust in the hard coal mining industry can lead to various pathological lung changes, especially to chronic bronchitis without and with obstructive ventilation disorder, lung emphysema, pneumoconiosis (coal miner's pneumoconiosis, in Germany categorized as silicosis) and silicotuberculosis. These health disorders show a close pathogenetic and pathophysiological association and should not necessarily be regarded as individual entities. Most exposed subjects demonstrate more or less all of these pathological disorders. On account of individual (genetic?) susceptibility, their degree differs greatly. Some individuals are largely resistent, other subjects show severe effects like emphysema, progressive massive pneumoconiosis, or the Caplan syndrome. Several studies showed that the pathologically verified degree of lung fibrosis is associated with lung crystalline SiO(2) content whereas the emphysema score is inversely correlated with the coal content. With regard to diagnostics and medical expert opinion, it is important that conventional radiology has a low sensitivity. Further, health impairments of miners engaged for longtime which are insurance relevant (MdE) exist in cases without (BK 4111 if beginning after 12/31/1992) or with coalworkers' pneumoconiosis even for categories. Yet even after this is pretty well known by many we still send people down in these conditions.
If your still reading then you probably agree that this is something that needs to stop. Gov. Joe Manchin of West Virginia said he was planning to introduce mine-safety bills in the state Legislature and to lobby the U.S. Congress to enact more mine-safety laws. Also along those same lines he said he intends ensure there are ample oxygen stations within mines and making sure rescuers have the means to respond as rapidly as possible.
Anyway on another note, D and I spend a great deal of time together yesterday mostly downtown. It was another spring like day here in Boston with Bostonians filling the parks and lining the streets. After a day of exploration we ended up at the movies to see "Walk the Line" a great film about Jonny Cash. If you have not seen it I highly recommend it. Walk the Line Staring Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon (she is amazing in this film)
posted by Jeff at 1/22/2006 12:05:00 PM
3 Comments:
Hi Jeff. I liken the coal industry to the oil industry. We know it's deadly - both to extract and to use. We know it's not sustainable, and we know there are other ways to run society that will ultimately resolve the long-term problems with coal.
But no one wants to pay the short-term costs of transitioning over to something else. We don't want to spend the billions on nuclear plants. We don't want eyesore windmills on our horizons - or in our backyards. We want our cheap oil to last as long as possible, and we freak when gas tops $3/gallon.
All told, there's a huge gulf between ideals and our willingness to sacrifice to achieve them.
This is a great, thought-provoking post. Your blog is superb. I'm glad we met via Michele's, and am looking forward to reading more.
"isn't a large part of Pennsylvania ruined by burning underground coal mines"
As a Pennsylvanian, my understanding is that it was just a small town affected by this; PA is a very large state, and I've only heard of that one isolated case.
Jeff, you're a film guy right? I know it might be a little much to ask, but please spell check some of your stuff. In the first line of this post on the miners, I found two typos causing me to wonder how your treatments will ever get read, accepted and produced by a major house.
I want you to be successful because my name is also Jeff and I also live in the Boston area.
**The comments were spot on and I have no squeals about them.
Post a Comment
<< Home