Coal Miner.

During the Industrial Revolution, children were extensively employed in coal mines. "Trappers" waited alone in mine shafts to open and close air ducts; "greasers" lubricated the axles of the coal cars; and "breaker boys" picked out pieces of slate and stone as the coal was shuttled by on conveyor belts. Accidents were frequent and debilitating lung disorders and diseases were almost assured.

But this picture is not of the Industrial Revolution. It was taken only a little over 30 years ago at a small, family-owned mine in Ohio. While it is probably rare to find a child working in a coal mine today, the threat that coal poses to children confronts us with a newer kind of urgency: unless we can substantially reduce carbon dioxide emissions from burning coal and oil, we will leave our children--and all of our descendents, for generations to come--with an unstable climate and biologically impoverished Earth.