This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
In his op-ed ("Environmentalists owe a debt to rural America," May 15) Terry Marasco laid out his case for not only industry but the federal government to come to the aid of rural areas hurt by the current war on coal. His sentiments are kinder than most, but wrong nonetheless.
Rural Utah doesn't want more government assistance (interference). We want less. We want the government to quit subsidizing wind and solar (and coal) so that they can compete in the open marketplace. We want the president to cease calling us wanton destroyers of the global environment. Those of us here in the center of energy development should be dying like flies if the dire predictions of the environmentalists were true. We should be choking to death on the clouds of hazardous materials spewing out of the power plants. In case you haven't noticed, we're not. When the feds outlaw real killers like smoking and obesity, then worry about us.
Rural Utah doesn't want to become another Democrat Party constituency, groups at the government teat that have no choice but to vote Democrat every election or chance having that monthly check cease.
Just leave us be.
Charles Fausett
Price