It’s easy to follow the money trail of mining and drilling contributions to the campaign chests of Utah’s representatives in the U.S. House and Senate, which ensures support of returning federal lands, with just a flick of a presidential pen, to ultimately mining and drilling.

It’s easy to read The Tribune map showing coal reserves now outside of what is left of the massacred monuments created by President Obama.

What is hard to understand is why more (something) isn’t being done to develop cleaner ways of burning coal.

What is even harder to understand is why geologists, mining engineers, electricians, mechanics and long wall operators are sitting idle in Carbon County (which does have its own natural beauty and amazing history) atop years of coal reserves in established mines. Coal is attainable without decimating land sacred to the Native American tribes and land that should be sacred to all of us purely for its incredible beauty.

Unless, of course, Democrats live and vote down there.

Darlene Alley, Bountiful