Growing up in the Four Corners, I dug my hands deep into those coal beds at Peabody Coal Mine and hauled truckloads of coal to my grandmother’s home. The coal was to keep our home warm for the winter.
I was a part of the generation who believed that those towering smokestacks were an image of beauty and economic vitality. Until 12 years old, when I began to be diagnosed with bronchitis multiple times every winter. My mother never understood why and she suggested that I played outside too late. My mother may not know the detriments of horrendous air quality – but I do.
Methane is found in underground coal beds. Where a coal reserve meets the surface of the land, through natural seeps or mining, methane is released into the atmosphere. Methane is also the primary component of natural gas. It is emitted into the atmosphere during the production, processing, storage, transmission, and distribution of natural gas for energy. The San Juan Basin contains the nation’s highest concentration of methane, which is an 86 times more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke proposed to repeal the BLM Methane and Waste Prevention and gut regulations. To add salt, Environmental Protection Agency head Scott Pruitt continues to head us down the environmental pithole with continued efforts for regulation rollbacks across the board.
A child should not believe that carbon dioxide is a thing of beauty. These environmental safeguards were meant to secure that ideology. But our environmental leaders don’t agree.
Amber N. Benally
Durango
