Stop the deception about coal

To the editor:

Coal mining was good for this Valley.

Fort Richardson and Elmendorf AFB and the city of Anchorage all ran on coal for power for many years. Many homes and businesses were also heated by coal.

I can remember the Palmer Arms being heated with coal when we lived there while my father was building a house on what became Smith Road. My father worked at the coal mine at Jonesville near Sutton. That was a very good job for the times.

The alternatives? Work for government or farming was about it. Construction was very seasonal, and the mine afforded year-round employment. I doubt that many who are here now would understand what that meant back then. Outside of government and retail trades, there were few jobs that offered year-round employment. This Valley was a very different place then.

There were many active farms. There was a dairy in Palmer and a farmers’ co-op. There was a coal train that came through once a week with coal for Fort Rich and Elmendorf.

In fact, the only concern about air quality during those times was the amount of silicate particles in the air from the wind, which seemed to blow much more than it has in the last 40 years.

The CDC in the late 1960s did not issue a warning about the impact of burning coal, but rather expressed concern over the amount of silicate particles carried by the almost constant winds off of the Matanuska and Knik rivers. The air quality from the burning of coal for power and home and business heating was not impacted.

Alaska’s Legislature and governor have failed to provide leadership where energy development is concerned. There is no gas pipeline in our future.

The promise of cheap power is only from coal, not natural gas.

The board of directors of Matanuska Electric Association rejects coal, but intends to build a 100-megawatt power plant that will burn diesel as a backup to natural gas, using generators built in Finland.

Change is inevitable and a coal mine will help mitigate the ever-increasing impact of a recession in the Lower 48 and the resulting inflation from our federal government’s irresponsible spending.

Coal is a resource to be used here for Alaskans, not just shipped out of state elsewhere.

The people who oppose the coal mine evidently have not seen maps of the air pollution from China and Russia and where it ends up. That is where a lot of our air pollution comes from. That is what they should be screaming about and venting their concerns to our Congressional delegation and the Obama administration.

Instead, they work to deny Alaskans a future and opportunity by working to stop industry and the creation of jobs needed here in Alaska.

Larry Wood

Palmer