Once upon a Christmastime,
visions of sugar plums danced in our heads.
We knew that, if we were more naughty than nice, Santa was going to
forget the “sugar plums.” Instead, he’d
fill our stockings with switches and lumps of coal.
I
grew up in the OK-to-switch era. My
grandmother’s switch of choice was from her backyard plum tree. There was nothing “sugar” about those limber plum
limbs. Santa could keep the switches.
Ditto for that
the lumps-of-coal thing. I was all about the Sears’ Wish Book. In the hefty catalog were bicycles, BB guns
and roller skates. In fact, I never
really thought that much about coal
until I read John Grisham’s Gray Mountain.
I knew coal mining
was a major industry where the work was dirty and often hazardous. I also knew that coal provided cheap generation
of electricity. But—for the most part—I
had not paid much attention to the pollution issues.
In 2014, by the
time I had turned the last page, Grisham had rattled me awake to the ugly
downside of coal burning—especially the toxic substance left behind. Coal ash can destroy people’s health and
poison the environment.
Yes, I know.
Grisham is a
novelist, but the foundation of Gray
Mountain is based on real-life facts.
And that’s how I learned of the dangers of coal ash. So when I heard Wayne County was destined to
become a major coal-ash dump, I knew the community had to rally to defend our
natural resources and our lives. That was 35 months ago.
Thank goodness
you made your voices heard. And we are
grateful Republic Services Inc. listened.
I have faith there will be an amicable resolution to the issue in the new
year. While the devil is always in the
details, we cannot lose our focus on what must be done.
For years,
coal-burning industries operated—more or less—beneath the radar of general public
conversation. Not anymore. America is talking about coal ash. A day rarely goes by that someone doesn’t
send me a news article on the subject.
Last week I received
a report from Earthjustice and the Environmental Integrity Project entitled
“Georgia at a Crossroads.” It is time to
decide whether we are going to strengthen our coal-ash laws. According to the report, “11 of Georgia’s 12
coal-fired power plants have contaminated groundwater with one or more toxic
pollutants.” All but one of these plants
are Georgia Power-owned.
Almost
simultaneously, Georgia Power released an update on the progress of shutting
down all of its 29 coal-ash ponds. Aaron
Mitchell, the company’s general manager of environmental affairs, was quoted: “The intent for every single closure—whether
excavation or closing in place with advanced engineering measures—is to make
sure groundwater is protected during and throughout the life of that
closure.”
So how long is
that?
Mitchell said:
“Once the ponds are closed, we will continue to monitor groundwater around them
to ensure the quality for at least 30 years.”
I am glad Georgia Power is taking proactive measures, but many of us
will be gone in 30 years. What about our
grandchildren? How about our
great-grandchildren’s grandchildren?
Do they deserve
pollution from lumps of coal (ash)—Christmas after Christmas—for generation
after generation?
If our
generation allows that to happen, shame on us.
dnesmith@cninewspapers.com
