Proud to be

The tragic deaths of twelve coal miners and the ensuing blame game perhaps overshadows the debt of gratitude I, for one, feel towards the 74,000 coal miners in this country. Much has been said about innumerable forms of alternative energy that we could or should be developing. I'm not the one to evaluate that, but I do know that we have people who are quite willing to go down into the dark, dirty and dangerous earth and bring back up those precious lumps of coal that we haven't figured out how to live without.

Coal miners, oil field workers, refinery workers. These are the men and women who are making energy happen right now. It's sad when they lose their lives doing their jobs, but the twenty-two mining deaths in 2005 pales in comparison to the five thousand miners who lose their lives every year in China.

Another reason for being grateful for living in the U.S. even if, as Loretta Lynn, you happen to be a coal miner's daughter.