In Kentucky, we're destroying mountains, including their soils and forests, in order to get at the coal. In other words, we're destroying a permanent value in order to get at an almost inconceivably transient value. That coal has a value only if and when it is burnt. And after it is burnt, it is a pollutant and a waste-a burden.
![In Kentucky, we're destroying mountains, including their soils and forests, in order to get at the coal. In other words, we're destroying a permanent value in order to get at an almost inconceivably transient value.](http://cdn.quoteddaily.com/images/wendell-berry/in-kentucky-were-destroying-mountains-including-their-soils-and-forests-in-order-to-get-at-the-coal-in-other-words.jpg)