Christmas Eve, 1932 ~ Tragedy in Moweaqua

Coal mining was an extremely hazardous job in the U.S. during the first half of the 20th century. The Christmas holiday marked a dark day for Illinois mining in 1932. On the morning of Christmas Eve, an underground methane gas explosion took the lives of 54 miners.

"Families of miners, sober faced and dry eyed, waited Saturday,
not for Christmas and the coming of Santa Claus, but for mine rescue
workers to reach their fathers and older brothers." ~ Moweaqua News
photo courtesy of Moweaqua Public Library

The Moweaqua Mine was among those newly organized by the Progressive Miners. While donations poured in from across the state, Mark Sorenson notes: "John L. Lewis, head of the United Mine Workers, sent a check for $4000 (some reported $1000) that was refused by the Moweaqua Progressive Miner Union. They thought it was hypocritical to send money while the UMW was instigating beatings and killings of PMWA members just a few miles away where the PMWA were striking." Although the union rejected the donation, it was accepted by local relief committee.

The Moweaqua Public Library District has created a great site on the history of coal mining in the town - Mining More In Moweaqua.

Here's a two-minute trailer from a documentary produced on the disaster.

A limited number of DVD's of the film are available from the library.

Freeman United Coal Company Accused of Repeated Clean Water Act Violations

Here's a link to an article by Jeff Biggers at Huffington Post on the effort of central Illinois environmentalists to hold Freemen United Coal Company accountable for violations of the Clean Water Act.

Grindstone Creek, a waterway near the
strip mine is polluted with mine waste.

According to the article, whether or not the company is responsible for the mess isn't in question. The Heart of Illinois Group Sierra Club asserts Freeman Coal's records show that its strip mine has broken the law hundreds of times in the last five years"

In an all-too-familiar pattern, those in government charged with ensuring that laws are enforced in order to protect the public and the environment turn a blind eye to gross violations. Instead members of the public are left on their own to hold offenders accountable, in this case through expensive law suits.

You can lend your support to this effort. Contact the following groups to learn more:

Sierra Club - Heart of Illinois Group

Prairie Rivers Network

Environmental Law and Policy Center

The BBC Reports on Clean Coal

Here's the link to a new report from the BBC - Clean Coal: Fool's Gold or the Bright Future?



The story raises a number of important issues. First, the costs to implement carbon capture may make coal prohibitively expensive - that is if it works. Further, industry representatives and Energy Department acknowledge that widespread use of the technology isn't likely to be seen until 2030.

So even if it works and is economically feasible, it's deployment may occur too late to slow global warming. Why are we doing this?