Gillette - Energy capital of the nation - August 18

I spent most  of today in Gillette, looking around, talking to the pastor of  the First (and only) Presbyterian church, looking at coal mines.

To quote from the town brochure: "If Campbell County (i.e., Gillette) were a nation, it'd be the sixth largest coal producing country in the world; as it is, it now mines more than one-fourth of all  American coal. Open-pit mines work round the clock to dig coal that provides one-third of the nation's electricity, and they have become models for reclamation all over the world."

The pit mines are amazing. I watched humongous coal-haulers, twice as big as tanks, moving coal from the pits to the trains today. I have seen trains over a mile long hauling nothing but cars loaded with coal. These trains have at least 120 cars, I am told, each of which holds 130 tons of coal. There are at least 30 trains per day hauling this coal out of Gillette, and of course there are thirty trains returning with empty cars. The trains pass at the end of the street in Moorcroft where my motel is situated. I have watched  them This information is true. (One person told me that many trains have more than 120 cars; although I am prone to counting,I did not verify.) 

Gillette became a boom town in the early seventies. Coal, gas,  oil - it's all here. The town looks like a frontier town in some ways. There is not enough housing for the workers. Trailers are everywhere.

Senator Mike Enzi is from Gillette. He is a member of the Presbyterian church here. The congregation is, I am told, very worried about the mistaken actions of the US government and the Presbyterian General Assembly.The session (the governing board of the local church) has gone on record as opposing the church's redefinition of marriage. Both Senator Enzi and Senator Barrasso are very upset about proposed federal regulations to limit the amount of coal-produced electricity. Let's just say President Obama doesn't have many fans in this part of the world. While those of us who are concerned about global warming may have a different attitude than they do, let's remember: no one (well, hardly anyone) ever agrees with proposals that will limit their livelihood. If you were a struggling rancher who suddenly got rich from the mineral rights beneath your land, you might not look kindly on anything that threatens that wealth. It's  the old story: whose ox is being gored?

But Christianity in theory calls us to transcend our self-centeredness, doesn't it?