|
|
|
|
"Sowing My Community Back"Lucius Thompson lives about 1,000 feet from the blasting site at the head of Little Tom Biggs hollow in McRoberts, Kentucky. The mining company doing mountaintop removal, a practice that decapitates mountains in Appalachia to expose a coal seam and lucratively extract the coal, sometimes uses a supercharge of dynamite to loosen the rock to get the coal. The section Lucius added to his trailer actually separated from the main structure with the tremors. When it rains, he puts buckets throughout his house to catch the drips from the cracks caused by the blasting. But no damage compares to the fright he got a year ago. Three of his children, the oldest 7 years of age, were playing in front of the house. A downpour came, so the kids went inside. A moment later a torrent of water rushed down from the strip site flushing debris and mud from the hillside with a force so powerful that any child or elderly person could easily have been swept away. Mountaintop removal, like advanced production techniques in other industries, illustrates some ethical principles lost in the quest for efficiency and profit. The church teaches that rights come with responsibilities. The coal company has a right to its coal, but it must mine it responsibly. In 1977 the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act sought to prevent water contamination and blast damage to homes. A quarter century ago strip mine technology allowed removing coal veins only near the surface and mined land had to be restored to its original use and contour. One small exemption in SMCRA allowed for leveling of mountains and filling of stream beds if that procedure readied a site for development. The loophole became big enough to drive a 20-story high shovel through. Today, advanced technology using powerful dynamite charges, monster shovels and huge trucks hauling 80 tons sometimes level down mountains 500 feet, dumping millions of tons of top soil and rock into the river beds in the adjacent valleys. With mountaintop removal rural communities face possible floods, dry wells, polluted streams, cracked walls and foundations, and surroundings of constant dust and noise pollution. "If you don’t live the life, you don’t know what it’s about," laments Lucius. The companies claim they operate within the law and only God can send rains causing floods. Besides in rural areas with little economic opportunity, they argue, communities need jobs. In 1979 strip mining employed 17,181 in Kentucky, but by 2000 the figure dropped to 4,612, while production fell only one-fourth. A job in strip mining represents a temporary human activity till advanced technology replaces it. Meanwhile, alternative jobs in tourism and other industries stand in jeopardy. Recognizing the principle of care of creation links naturally with the principle regarding rights and responsibilities, John Paul II proclaims the right to a safe environment must eventually be included in an updated U.N. Charter of Human Rights. "Respect for life and for the dignity of the human person extends also to the rest of creation." On December 10, 2002, International Human Rights Day, 60 people ascended a mountain to a strip site overlooking McRoberts. They came to pray. McRoberts had not experienced a serious flood since 1957, but in the last 18 months they faced 5. Prayers rose to change hearts and open eyes. At the conclusion, Catherine Oden, a McRoberts’ senior citizen, walked among the rock and dirt, and with a symbolic gesture of hope and determination she scattered a handful of wildflower seed saying, "I’m sowing my community back." |
|
Catholic Conference of Kentucky 1042 Burlington Lane Frankfort, Kentucky 40601
502-875-4345
Last modified: April, 2008 |
502-875-2841 Fax