But what about the coal miners?

One of the most important topics of our day is job creation. This topic is the center point of every political campaign in the United States (and I assume every country as well). It is also the dividing line between political parties because of the methods of job creation. The cornerstone of sustainability is job creation growth and includes the installation of green energy, such as solar, to eliminate the dependency of coal and oil. Those that oppose these changes fear the investment of green technologies would wreck our economy and millions of jobs will be lost. Conservatives, like President Trump, support the creation of jobs for coal miners as a means to jumpstart the economy. On the flip side, supporters for green technologies argue that the contrary will happen, and jobs will be created in greater numbers than those lost in the non-renewables industry. While the conservative side is technically right, several occupations throughout history have proven that a decrease in a job sector does not indicate a weakening economy and that their decrease in number is the result of improved technology.

For the most part of human history, farmers made up the majority of the workforce. In fact, 90% of people under the Roman Empire (in its height) were engaged in agriculture in one form or another. However, as technologies improved, especially in crop production, the population of farmers decreased. In present times, a first world country, like the United States, has farmers that represent 1.3% of the entire population! Since agriculture is vital for the continuing of any human civilization, it stands to reason that as many people as possible should be engaged in agriculture. But thanks to the advancement of farming technologies, fewer farmers are able to farm larger traces of land. In comparison to the Roman farms, modern American farmers can harvest 47 bushels of wheat while the ancient roman farmer would be able to harvest around 18 bushels of wheat per acre. Not to mention, modern farmers are less likely to suffer from crop failure than their ancient counterparts thanks to pesticides and improved hydrologic technologies.

Like farmers, candle makers had an important role in our society. For centuries, they provided light in our homes before the invention of the light bulb dwindled their numbers. Afterwards, their numbers dwindled, and their role downgraded to providing light for aesthetic and aromatic. But perhaps during this transition they weren’t too happy with the light bulb replacing a way of life and unsound rumors were developed in the candle maker’s defense. Rumors such as “They’ll explode” or “If you touch the switch, you will be electrocuted.” Despite these rumors, the light bulbs prevailed and the candle making industry no longer plays a dominant role in providing light in our homes and businesses.

The stories behind these two occupations shows that better technologies will eventually dwindle the numbers of certain occupations. The coal miner is no exception and despite attempts from politicians to revive their numbers, their dwindling is inevitable as new technologies has shown that coal is becoming obsolete as an energy source. But coal miners will still be around, as we need coal to produce steel and other products such as cosmetics. Same thing with the oil riggers. Someday we wouldn’t be drilling for oil to power our vehicles, but we will still need to drill to manufacture products such as roads, tires, roof shingles and home applications. But their role in providing energy will one day be completely taken over by solar and wind that will provide cleaner, cheaper electricity for us to use and enjoy.

HHJ News