fire on the mountain

Only a few days after the coal mining explosion that killed over 100 men in Siberia, Mike and I drove to the Seattle Repertory Theatre to see Fire on the Mountain, a play that deals with our nation's own nasty coal mining past.

Fire On the Mountain is a musical about the history of coal mining in the Appalachians and the Bluegrass music it inspired.
Watching the play made me think about the mining industry and how controversial it really is as an occupation. Not because we'll be putting our lives in danger, but because we'll be a part of an industry that has long been blamed for environmental damage and human rights abuse.

So, I started digging around to get an idea of copper's place in our lives. We rely on copper for computer circuits and chips, radios, tv sets, microwaves,refrigerators, car radiators, air-conditioners, home heating systems, water pipes, plumbing fixtures, electrical generators, motors, and so much more. Not than any of those things justify damaging the environment, but they are important on another level. I'm much more for sustainability, recycling, and alternatives but I'd be lying to myself if I pretended that I didn't already have a roll in the copper industry. (You want a house and a car and a computer, but there are consequences.) Soon, we'll be seeing first hand how people's collective appetites for our lifestyle effect the landscape. Who knows what that could mean for us in the future?