KY_EnviroGuy
KY_EnviroGuy's JournalJust a suggestion....
....from a tired old man that has the same problem often. I learned years ago to write out my issues on paper, carefully describing the problem, listing who might be at fault (including me), and then what may or not can be done.
At least for me, there's magic in going through that process -- I think because it gets it all out in the sunshine. Plus, I can better see where I'm full of crap (or not) or just complicating something simple.
When I'm done and feeling better, I can just rip it up, shred it or burn it - or, put it in a journal. Hope that helps! 
Thanks GenX, she'll use it in parts and keep it in context.
I'll send you a PM soon, and appreciate your offer of a printable copy. Since she teaches reading rather than English, I think she looks for pupil's interpretation and retention more than perfection in structure.
Regarding writing, that has been an indispensable tool for me during many troubled times, along with my self-designed forms of meditation. The way I look at writing down things that bother me is that I am "exposing them to the sunshine". I'm very shy and an introvert, so letting my stuff go verbally to a crowd doesn't work well for me, although I do crave one-on-one private talks with friends. I'm glad you're able to use the tool of open speaking effectively.
I also agree that writing stressful stuff down helps detangle all those random threads of confusing and contradictory thoughts - sometimes so bad for me I go into what some might call a mental "tizzy", LOL. Putting it on paper seems to throw aside the meaningless issues. It's amazing though, how damn hard it is sometimes to drag out that pen and paper!
Quite a coincidence - I'm an engineer, too (EE). I've worked primarily as a "Mr. Fix-it" in so many different commercial and industrial domains you probably would accuse me of lying (or being Trumpish, LOL). I was a volunteer firefighter for around 8-years in my 20s and was quite obsessed with it, but had to move on to support my family. I have quite a photo album from that time buried in my brain. Many images - some good and many bad - flash back at odd times. Overall, it was a great time for me, as I was raised to be of service to my fellow man by very loving, country folks that went through the very worst of the Great Depression. I still light-up when I hear the sirens.
Your mention of the stress of that profession is correct and I know many pros that have had serious psychological issues, with many suffering from severe alcoholism and/or depression, and early death. Our efforts to put on a facade of being strong, brave men - while bottling our emotions and feelings - is a very destructive but almost standard practice. For a number stupid reasons, our society does not deal with PTSD from any profession very well at all.
We'll perhaps chat further on these topics on PM, as I'm probably way past my allotment of bits and bytes on this thread.
Thanks, Binkie!
I now wish I had expanded my interest back them with more reading of classics, although my country school's library was limited. I took an early interest in science and technology and spend most of my time building crystal radios and tinkering.
Afterward, as an engineer, we were encouraged to not use unnecessary or "fancy" words, so that our writing could not be misinterpreted - perhaps causing a disaster. Further, most of my career's work involved interfacing with folks having high school education (at best), so I've always had to keep my dialog simple.
So now at 70 YO, I find myself still learning and using my dictionaries often. The positive result of these activities is that it helps stave off dementia! 
Republicans want a selective confederacy
I suspect their ultimate motive is to establish a group of solid red states harboring all the American males who are healthy, working, conservative white Christian gun, wife and child owners with no outstanding medical issues, no criminal record, and that are only of European heritage. Basically, a laissez-faire utopia.
One will notice in all the photos of their press events, those present are white male Christians of European heritage with good paying jobs.
By passing laws and budgets that force all others to move to Blue states, most social costs are then borne by the "other".
After this process is complete, as a group of former states, they intend to secede and nationalize them as The Plutocratic Confederate States of America. They will not however, be joining the United Nations.
All Koch, Murdoch, Mercer, Coors and Walton family patriarch birthdays will be national holidays.
Thanks, grantcart for that call to action.
Our situation is very depressing at this time and I for one, needed that shake of the shoulders!
The big money boys have taken us down this sorry road with the goals of divide and conquer, dumbing-down, and the instilling of fear and hatred in the general public. They profit massively from our being misinformed, ignorant, mentally frozen, fearful and biased - it makes for the best consumers!
We must find ways in our everyday lives to reunite and somehow spread it throughout our nation. It's a massive, long-term job. Our bouncing between left-leaning and extreme right-leaning government control is not working well at all, neither in the USA or around the world.
Thank you for your service to the international community!
Desperation is the key.
There's no question about the many harms that coal mining and coal-fired plants do to our health and environment. However, where we seem to be failing horribly is in not looking carefully at the long-term blowback from shutting down any existing industry, whether it is good or bad. Just how many good paying jobs can we shift to near-minimum wage jobs without our country falling apart?
When you close a small manufacturing plant or mine in a country town, you decimate people's lives, disrupt families, rob the town of tax base (for schools, parks, roads, etc.), and upend the town's culture. Evidently, corporations don't give a damn about any of that. Then, they wonder why so many small town people turn to drugs and alcohol.
Until this country divorces itself from unchained laissez-faire capitalism and Wall Street worship, we'll have more and more people in various parts of the country in displacement and suffering. The billionaire-level capitalists have no idea of what human life for everyday Americans is all about, and yet they make all the decisions that control almost every aspect of our lives.
With 1/2 of my TN heritage being from Appalachia, I truly feel the pain of the miners. Although our family's part of the mountains was not mining country, we did depend on the timber and textile industries, along with small-scale farming. Similar situation in NC with the furniture industry, and many others with pulp and paper. Most of those industries now have been stripped away by foreign competition, plants moving to other countries, mergers and acquisitions and a corporate don't give a shit attitude about our communities.
I can't conceive what prompted Trump to tell the miners of Appalachia that the coal industry could be revived. It's probably the most cruel thing he could do to a desperate people, and these are good, hard working folks. These people have poor or non-existent health care, weak school systems and failing infrastructure (the mining tax base is gone). Trump and his power people should be fighting to get small industrial and service firms to build there. One sector I thought of would be a revival of the furniture industry, which might work due to proximity to vast timber lands. However, we would have to virtually blockade the Chinese out of that market, with their cheap throw-away products at Walmart. Hell, mountain folks can even make his stupid ties, ball caps, and junk for his hotels.
In other words, we need to change to a hard driven people-oriented attitude of doing what's best for our folks and communities rather than what's best for corporations. Trickle down ain't working. You can probably tell I'm very upset about all this and thanks to you and DU for letting me vent. I've watched it happen since the 60's and it hurts.
Rhiannon, let's hope that wisdom prevails.
As someone who had worked with the power industry, I hope we have organizations in place with the power and wisdom to insure this transition from coal is done in a sustainable fashion. The power industry, Wall Street and environmental groups basically pull in different directions - and swing to the extremes. We need powerful organizations involved in the decision making process that can watch out for our long-term interests and security.
There's no one more supportive of the transition away from coal than me. However, I do believe we may have to maintain some reserve capacity in coal-fired plants until we're certain that gas supplies can be sustainable without again becoming primarily reliant on foreign sources (from oil and LNG - liquefied natural gas). Just look at Europe's fears of Russia having control over their primary gas supplies!
The US at this time does not have the political will to fully support build-out of massive solar, wind and geothermal sources, and nuclear fusion seems a long way off. Instead, we've become enchanted with natural gas, which will someday run into limits of (economical) supply, and which does pollute the air - although at a much smaller extent than coal. Just like with oil, we don't want to suck the earth dry of fossil-based energy products. We're always going to need some amounts of petrochemicals for things other than energy.
The other area America must intently focus on is energy efficiency. We're the largest per-capita energy consumer on the planet - somewhat spoiled if you will. Cutting back on power usage, modifying our homes for better efficiency, driving less, consuming less plastics, etc., requires daily dedication from the general public, along with strong regulations where necessary.
The current administration in Washington is walking us in reverse for accomplishing these goals, and cares less about the public's health or long-term interests.
Our media goes for sensationalism and entertainment value...
...with accuracy, healthy editing and pertinence be damned. We now live in a world obsessed with the next big "feel good" thing on a 4" phone screen. I worry about the effect it's having on our collective conscience and especially on our children's development.
Electronic media is now our primary means of acquiring accurate, unbiased news - but finding it now takes some digging. Pertinent, accurate news is often boring and our brains unfortunately have been reconditioned to reject anything boring.
Newspapers and magazines are dying - both of which gave our minds plenty of time to digest content. In this age of demands for 100% physical and mental efficiency, there's no time allowed to think with any detail!
Our media outlets no longer seem to have a moral anchor to healthy values, just as our large corporations have lost their anchor to our communities. It's a new world and progressives must adapt.
The report the Harvard/MIT article referenced is 142 pages long and I'm hoping to read as much as I can stand without loosing it.
What you've said is a good reminder...
for us all to watch our complacency. I see there's still around a dozen active Superfund sites in KY. I hope the folks in Paducah are keeping an eye on the diffusion plant.
Since this thread is about health care, it may be that America's complacency or "extreme willful ignorance" about the cost of care has resulted in the most expensive long-term scam on any human population, ever! I think many people know but feel completely powerless.
Congrats on planting that seed at Maxey!
No, but I am now, LOL. Thanks!
The "enviro" in my moniker relates primarily to industrial air pollution control.
That's a very interesting story (I just read the Wiki on it) and just like many other sites in KY (coal mines, Ft. Knox, power plants, etc.), we'll be paying for them for centuries! I don't trust KY or the EPA (now!) to properly monitor and/or remediate that site.
Many extremely nasty and dangerous hazardous sites in the US are kept carefully hidden and behind secure fences. Unfortunately, fences do not stop the flow of water run-off, leaching into water tables, and wind-blown hazardous particulates.
Profile Information
Gender: MaleHometown: TN, KY
Home country: USA
Current location: KY
Member since: Thu Jul 6, 2017, 07:43 PM
Number of posts: 14,490
