Wishbone Hill news raises concerns as oil pours from BP Gulf rig

News came in Wednesday afternoon that Usibelli Coal Mine had found a potential buyer for the coal from its Wishbone Hill mine near Sutton. While many in the Valley have supported the idea of a mine bringing jobs and commerce to the eastern part of the Mat-Su Borough, it seems almost as many rue the day the first shovel will go into the ground.

This very local debate comes as BP’s Deepwater Horizon well continues to spew barrel upon barrel of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Environmentalists near and far are up in arms.

Apparently so is President Obama, who has announced there will be a suspension of offshore drilling in the Arctic region for at least a year.

These are reasonable reactions to the spill that has now surpassed Alaska’s Exxon Valdez disaster. We all saw how much damage that did to Prince William Sound and beyond. The Deepwater spill has the potential to do just as much destruction to the tidal areas in Louisiana, even surpass it, and create financial ruin for fishermen and oystermen there, and the tourism Louisianans count on each year.

These are incalculable disasters.

Just this week, Alyeska suffered a pipeline failure that released thousands of barrels of oil and temporarily closed the pipeline. It was contained in some kind of holding tank for that purpose. The spill seems to have caused no significant damage to the environment.

Officials say the pipeline may reopen this week.

However, until we and other nations around the globe begin to wean ourselves off these finite sources of energy, similar disasters lurk with every exploration and transportation of minerals and oil and gas.

The opponents of Wishbone Hill mining fear several aspects of that operation, first being the health concerns associated with coal dust in the air. Second, people in the immediate area are probably correct in assuming their property values will fall. Others worry that the increased traffic by trucks hauling coal to whichever port it’s going to will cause accidents, tie up traffic and tear up roads.

Yet most of us aren’t willing to walk or bicycle to work or feed and ride a horse everyday.

We want electricity, but fear clean-burning nuclear energy. We are slow to adapt to solar energy and neighbors complain about their view being spoiled by a wind charger. We don’t want to risk killing fish by putting turbines in moving water or build hydroelectric dams.

The price you pay on your electric bill or at the gasoline pump isn’t the true cost. Deepwater Horizon is the cost everyone pays until we change our ways.