Question:
It is with great interest that i tackled some research into happenmings in the
Appalachians in the '60s and 70's; the rape of the land by strip miners, the
consequent loss of employment since fewer miners are needed in strip mining
versus deep mining, and Arnold Miller's victory in the union election,
ushering in a new era after Boyle is about as far as I have gotten, but the
parallels between where I grew up, dirt poor out here in Eastern Canada, and
some of what occured down there is astounding; as some may or may not be
aware, we have had our share of coal mining disasters, such as the Springhill
disasters, which led to the closing of the Springhill, Nova Scotia collieries,
the Westray disaster in 1992 near STellarton-Trenton Nova Scotia; the question
of strip mining came up here after Westray was closed, a strip mine was
planned for the Trenton area as a safer alternative to deep mining; the
Westray controversy focused around the negligence of mine magement and
government inspectors, miners being threatened with dismissal if they
complained about safety.
Answer:
THe CApe BReton Development Corporation, or Devco, which has a monopoly on all
coal mining on Cape Breton island, Nova Scotia, actually has a contract to
provide cheap coal to fire the province's power generating facilites; however,
with the problems in Phalen and Prince collieries, many have been urging the
devlopment of a new colliery in order to save the industry and the thousands
of jobs; Devco, a federal agency, has no interest, and although private
consortiums are interested they have not been permitted to develop it thus
far, even though it could assure the industry's survival well into the next
century.
Here where I currently reside on Prince Edward Island, hundreds of acres of
farmland have been destroyed, in a strip-mining like effort to extract gravel.
It is literally a wasteland in some areas, a lurid moonscape.
And I participated; I worked for a gravel company, as I needed money to fund
my education, and it was really the only job around.
But, my admiration goes out to you people, although I'm not aware of what the
situation down there is like today, but I would say we're probably about 20
years behind you people, up here, as far as labor conditions go.
I have been a teacher here in the hard coal mining area of Pennsylvania for
28 years. My Dad mined in deep mines from 1935 to 1960. Then the mines
closed when our country shifted to oil comsumption. Dad had to travel 100
miles to Phildelphia to find manufacturing work. Our family stayed in the
hills. Dad came home on weekends. Later he died from Black Lung Disease - a
ailment that bothered many miners.
They also did lots of strip mining through this area in the 40's and 50's.
The owners got the coal out and left the land scarred. Now 50 years later,
the federal government is filling in the holes and landscaping them. From
my front porch and I can look out on the mountainside and see both ugly
strip mining holes and beautiful reclaimed areas.
Today - a few modern strip mine operations have opened on the other side of
town. With their big trucks and shovels, one man can do the work of one
hundred old fashioned miners. The industry can recover - but they will
never need the number of employees they had in the past.
We have enough coal in our county to run the US for 400 years. If they
could find a cheap way to make gasoline out of it - we could power our cars
too.
