Bishop sold his soul to the devil, and the devil is coal

Utah Representative Rob Bishop and a number of county commissioners have sold their tiny, withered, carbon-blackened souls to the devil, and the devil is coal.

Bishop is so over the top in his comment regarding new regulations for coal mines that even professional prevaricators are astounded: "Clearly, the Obama administration will stop at nothing to stomp out American livelihoods dependent on coal," said Rep. Rob Bishop, Republican chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources.

This, in response to a proposal to keep coal mines 100 feet back from streams, a proposal estimated to increase the cost of coal by one-tenth of one percent (Salt Lake Tribune, 7/17/2015). http://www.sltrib.com/home/2739111-155/new-rule-to-protect-streams-near

Nevermind that the regulations will help keep water supplies used by many thousands of citizens, including children, clean.  No, the administration is not trying to keep pollution out of the water supply, it is trying to stomp out livelihoods.  According to the devil.

Utah’s elected officials are apoplectic over the possibility of a new National Monument in Utah, and are going on the offensive against the Obama administration for even thinking of designating a monument here.  And county commissioners are contradicting their own chamber of commerce to spread lies about the effect of the Grand Staircase National Monument on the local economy.

"We have communities that are disappearing. Garfield is a ghost county. This is horrific for the consequence to our state, our communities, the schools, the health of the lands," Ivory (State Rep. Ken Ivory, R-West Jordan) said, referring to a recent declaration of a "state of emergency" by Garfield County commissioners. "They are losing their schools, they are exporting their children, they are exporting their families." (Salt Lake Tribune 7/17/2015). http://www.sltrib.com/home/2738238-155/utah-officials-lawmakers-join-anti-monument-push?page=2

But the President of the Chamber of Commerce disagrees: "There is no state of emergency as far as we are concerned. It has been contrived by the county commission and the mayor," said Chamber of Commerce President Dennis Waggoner, co-owner of Escalante Outfitters. His family's resort, which employs 18, is 98 percent booked this season.

The wretched creatures propped up and put in office by the toxin-spewing extractive industries get their talking points straight from the devil’s (oops, I mean the coal industry’s public relations hacks) mouth. 

The facts are—all industries, including mining, have the potential to cause environmental damage, which is bad for our health.  There must be rules to keep them from killing people and making them sick.  Representative Bishop does not care about whether coal mines kill people, he just cares about keeping the industry happy so they keep writing him checks.  And the same for the county commissioners who think that lies loudly proclaimed will be heard and listened to.  Maybe they know their constituents better than I do.  Maybe their constituents do not care about the facts, and favor leaders who will tell them comforting lies, lies that make pollution desirable, conservation an abomination, and stewardship a mortal sin. 

Clearly the devil is at work here, and that devil is coal.