About the Author

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Hello, thank you for visiting my AlbertaForCoal website. To be very clear the following long writing is based on my own experiences and opinion (I want to make that very clear from the beginning to not be hypocritical).

Surprise! If you haven't figured it out, I currently work and have for some time in the coal industry. I am developing this website not for self-gain (I could get another job if I had to). I am doing this to try to educate people on the industry and also to stand up for small communities and those that need this industry to survive for them to continue their desired lifestyle. 

To provide some background I grew up in the southwest part of Alberta on a small ranch. My parents both ran things at home but also because we didn't come from large ranching families where land was given or inherited, they had to work out of home to provide a life for us. My father worked in the coal industry on and off through his career. Like his father and grandfather, they all ran a ranch but had to find work to provide for their families which was in coal mining. Yes, I do believe that you can farm, ranch and also support the coal industry (unlike others who are entirely against it based in opinion). 

The reason why I wanted to start this website was to hopefully educate people that there is a future in coal mining in Alberta and it can also be done in an effective and safe manner which can work alongside the environment. Does it have its faults, yes of course, any industry does, this includes farming and ranching (yes, they do have an environmental effect on the land, water and wildlife surrounding them), it's all about finding balance between the two. 

When it comes to the environment what people don't realize or don't want to know is that this industry has existed for 140+ years here and there are many areas that have never been reclaimed. That means all of these horrible natural minerals that the media tell you are currently being leached into the groundwater. Yet our water isn't poisoned, we eat the animals that drink water or live in the water from these areas and we are still here. Whenever people hear the word selenium they run in fear and the media and those opposed like to run with this word. Selenium is naturally occurring and generally isn't an issue at mines in Alberta. We can't compare Alberta to mines in BC or to mines that existed back 30-40 years ago. Technology advances and we learn from our or our parents' and grandparents' mistakes and misinformation. We have numerous monitoring systems in place to help with this as well as solutions to help control any concerning information. Its not a free for all and we have to reclaim areas we mine in. Look at Canmore for instance. Canmore originally was a coal mining town and yet the areas were reclaimed and people and animals thrive and survive. 

The people who live in these communities are also those that usually utilize everything nature has to give them. They hunt, fish, camp and hike daily in the areas near coal mining. They know more of the effects it would have than anyone else and are the custodians of the land. It's great for those to sit in big cities and point fingers and tell them "how dare you" and "you should just rather move to the city and let your town die because we don't like coal mining". People move to these areas and live here because they love the environment. Grande Cache is a perfect example of this. Its remote, costs more for groceries and lacks many amenities you would find in larger centers but people generally stay because they like the small community, environment and they know the industry can provide for them.

Like anything in this world please do your research and gather proper information about an industry before making your opinion. Don't listen to "entertainers" who are trying to block and destroy this industry, they are not the experts and like to spread misinformation. Its hard to say if this is because they actually care and know the facts or if its just for personal gain in their own careers. If you see people protesting this ask them to provide facts and not guesses or opinions and make your own decision based on these. 

Thank you for your time!