Comments by "JLH" (@Kyarrix) on "What Coal Miners Think About Climate Change" video.

  1. The problem is that many of the people who work in this industry are not interested or can't transition to something else without a lot of training and help. It's like truck drivers, many are older and are not likely to be able to transition to jobs writing code for example. It's easy to say let's find alternatives, get people different jobs, but it's more than a job, It's their identity. I agree that this is the solution but it will take more than transitioning or offering alternate jobs. A person who works as a coal miner or a truck driver probably does not have a lot of formal education. There are exceptions but this is typically the case. If you want to transition them to a different job it has to be a job that will work for them and offer them same sense of competence that they have in their current work. You can't easily transition a coal miner to a retail job and probably not to an office job either. You also have to take into account that these are people who are used to a certain way of living. If you take them out of what they are used to you risk problems adapting to a different life, depression, alcohol, drugs etc. I'm not saying that no one can adapt, some will be able to but many will struggle. Even if you offer lots of help, even if you can get funding for it, you are putting people in the position of needing help and that is difficult for many men to handle. I say men because typically these jobs are held by men although some women do them also. It is difficult to get people to think this through and conclude that their personal happiness is worth sacrificing for the greater good. It would be much easier if our society in general cared more and did more for people. If we genuinely cared about people's well-being, if we provided health care, education, fair wages people would be more easily persuaded to make this kind of change.
    1