A large, galvanized metal smoke stack once stood above a heavy iron boiler in an out-building at the Greenhill mine in Crowsnest Pass. Abandoned in the 1950’s, the structures at the mining operation were left to decay. After standing for around 60 years, the boiler building recently was taken down, likely for safety reasons. The smoke stack now lies discarded to one side. It’s a microcosm of the situation in many historical coal mining areas. Time and neglect, brought on initially by shifting economics and more recently by shifting priorities for ecological sustainability, have tipped the scales against the coal industry.
Tipping the Scales, Blairmore
Royce Howland Photography 