There are so many things I feel are "wrong" with this statement I don't know where to start.
First off, "...more coal in the ground in America than any other country in the world." This probably statistically has something to do with America's huge square millage. That's like bragging that America has more dirt than 234 other countries in the world. Congratulations.
Second, "..we need to treat it as an asset...". What about the land above the coal that we are destroying to get to it? Is this landscape not an asset? What about the clean air polluted by the mining and burning of coal, or the rivers clogged by what use to be Appalachian mountain tops, or how about a stable climate? Are these not assets we should concern ourselves with? If my garage was located behind my house with no driveway, I don't think I would drive through my home to park in my asset. Some things might be better left they way they are.Third, treating the non-renewable resources on this planet like assets on a "balance sheet" is what got us into trouble in the first place. Balance sheets only see economic profit and loss. They are not designed to look at damage to human health, the environment or the depletion of natural resources. When you tear down a mountain, dig up the coal, pollute the rivers, run people out of their homes, toxify the air, disrupt the climate, and then run out of coal, in order to make and sell energy it is all "profit" on a balance sheet. Should we look at coal the same way a dealer looks at cocaine?
And lastly, he is implying that since the coal was put there by our God it is okay to destroy the land to get to it.
Of course one is free to believe whatever you want about the origins of the coal under the mountains in West Virgina (and the beauty of this country lies in its mountain and its freedoms), but because the Lord put coal somewhere does not give us the right to rip off the tops of the mountains and dump them all over the river valleys to get to God's gift.
That is like my dog believing it is his right to get into the trash and spread it all over the kitchen floor because I left a candy-bar wrapper buried half way down in the the can.
When are we as a society going to understand that being an environmentalist does not mean you are a sandal-wearing-tree-hugging-peace-loving hippie? Of course, I do find sandals, trees and peace all good things. Being an environmentalist can also mean you are a humanitarian, or just care about the future for your children and their children, or perhaps you wish to limit suffering in the world. I think Jimmy Weekley is on to something down in West Virginia ( listen, transcript and article)
Thanks for paying attention,
Craig
P.S. If we were created in God's image and this society is what it produced, I would be interested to see God's backyard.
