March 15, 2014

Don’t let the EPA shut down coal mines, power plants

Dear Editor:

Are you ready to live in a ghost town? It's going to happen if the government and the EPA get their way.

If you think this won't affect you, think again! Over 1,500 people work in the mines and power plants in northwest Colorado. If they shut them down, it will affect everyone living here. The mines and power plants have subcontractors, vendors who supply tools, local car dealerships that provide vehicles, hot-shop companies that bring parts in the next day, etc., etc. The mines and power plants won't be the only businesses that go out of business.

People will be leaving town in droves because there will be few jobs left in our communities. They won't be able to sell their homes because people don't move into communities without good-paying jobs. There will be a trickle-down effect from all of this. It won't be a small trickle either, it will be a raging river.

Half our schools will close because the mines and power plants pay most of the taxes to keep them open and running properly. Some of our best teachers and nurses will leave because their spouses work for the coal companies.

There aren't enough jobs in agriculture or the oil and gas industries right now to keep everyone employed. Farmers and ranchers in our area supplement their incomes by coming to town for jobs.

Think of our town with no gift shops, flower shops, styling salons, grocery stores. Close your eyes and think of most of the town with their windows boarded up and closed signs on their doors. Do you think it affects you now?

It's time to stand up and fight for our rights. This isn't only happening in Colorado. It's happening all across the United States — Wyoming, Utah, Kentucky, Virginia, Pennsylvania, etc. Healthy and active mining communities are essential to our country's prosperity.

Coal keeps our electricity on and our families fed. Can you afford to pay an electricity bill that has doubled or tripled? If you don't have jobs it's pretty hard to pay bills that have doubled or tripled, not to mention the loss of paid insurance for our families.

Right now coal is the lowest-cost energy source we have. Coal is easy to transport, it's reliable and it's our biggest energy resource in the U.S. Our coal is shipped to a lot of Third World countries and China. If we shut down coal we shut down our nation.

I'm all for clean energy, solar energy, recycling and reusing. But I'm not for my husband, family, friends and neighbors losing their jobs and livelihoods.

Wind power is mechanically difficult to operate and store right now. Solar power is very expensive. Natural gas is hard to transport and it's in a limited number of places. Other countries have converted with a not-so-great success rate. There are a lot of bugs to be worked out. They have blackouts because other energy resources are not reliable at this time.

Why shut down these good-paying jobs while we are still in a recession? Coal keeps our families fed and it keeps our lights on!

Shirley Balleck

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Category: Letters