From Father to Son, Last Words to Live By

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Europe Turns Back to Coal, Raising Climate Fears

Today must be "Thanks to Coal" Day.

I read this article and it lead me to a whole list of reports in the past year by New York Times about the coal and energy crisis in various parts of the world.

A whole afternoon didn't allow me to finish digesting (or rather indigesting) the harrowing accounts of people who live practically next to coal-powered plants or mines.

The prospect of even more coal-induced carbon emissions into the fragile atmosphere by more new coal-powered plants in various parts of Europe and Asia left a charcoal taste in my mouth.

What are these nations thinking? To turn back to coal in the face of rising oil prices just to keep up with the high consumption of electricity is a short-sighted "solution" put mildly. Its in fact more like burning off the bridge that was precariously linking us back to environmental balance. Whatever happened to reviewing our consumption levels? Population control? Renewable sources of power such as wind, water and sunlight??

Apparently, the majority vote against the erection of a new coal-fired plant by the residents in context fell on deaf ears. Like what the StoryofStuff was saying, the government has become the feet-kisser of corporations with greater economic say than themselves.

What a great example to the Asian siblings.

The Earth is like the Human Body, and Water, like the Blood in its Veins

A man at the site of what used to be a fertile farmland. The rift was one of the many created by over-mining of coal in Shanxi, China.

The earth there is sinking with underground coal mining from all sides; the once pristine river had run dry, and the wells rendered useless.

The villagers found themselves at high risk of being buried alive by the mounting coal waste (reportedly 50 stories high) if they did not abandon their homes soon.

This report was made in Jun 2006. I wonder what their fate had become...