There are new things in reclamation but mostly there are just increased awareness and better performance by industry. Most of us in this business consider ourselves good citizens and dislike the label of a "despoiler of America's pristine beauty." Yet we are torn between that which is desirable and that which is economically feasible.

In approaching the subject of reclamation the problem must be put into perspective. It is established that the United States will approximately double its present consumption of minerals and mineral fuels each 15 years. During the past 30 years the United States has used more minerals and fuels than did the entire world in all previous history.

There is increased demand for great amounts of energy from oil, natural gas, coal, and hydroelectric power, not to mention atomic energy and solar energy. Shortages in some of these areas are already appearing with the discovery of natural gas and oil now falling behind the consumption. Present estimates by the industry are that 6 million bbl of this oil must come from synthetic sources including coal and oil shale.

We will be disturbing ever-increasing areas of the earth's surface to recover the fuel we need and surface mining must of necessity increase many fold. Therefore, we must expect increasing pressure from citizen's groups, sportsmen's organizations, environmental study groups, newspapers, and state and federal governments.

It is incumbent on us as an industry to actively and accurately tell our story to the public, so that every citizen in the states where we operate realizes that we are doing more than just making money--we are also providing them with needed electric power with fuel for the many industries that give them the civilization they demand; we are contributing substantially in taxes to provide schools, hospitals, and other civic benefits; and we provide the base for a thousand and one other products and services used in everyday life.

Because laws are obviously going to come, it is only sensible that the mining industry take a heavy part in drafting them so that insofar as possible they not be restrictive or punitive or otherwise unfavorable to such an extent that mining operations are curtailed or placed in a poor competitive position with other fuels.

Reclamation must be a part of our every day mining operation and must be an anticipated expense. This reclamation must be the result of combining the best technical assistance we can get to the hard economic facts of the coal mining business. This reclamation must be carried on with sensitivity to the needs of the area we are mining and to the feelings of the residents of the area. As increased federal interest in spoils reclamation is a certainty, we must ask companies to participate aggressively in establishing just and realistic reclamation laws. We must overcome the ostrich attitude our industry has had in the past because the conservation movement and increased awareness by the public of our environment are here to stay.

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