Quarries

Quoted text begins.On another note, I attended a stone industry meeting recently where an
attendee spoke of desecration inflicted by stone people upon the
Earth, how we were robbing our future generations of a valuable
resource. I've searched unsuccessfully for references to reply to this
statement, can anyone help?
End of quote.

Hi Simon,
I must admit I am probably going to hinder rather than help. And I probably
shouldn't even respond to something I know very, very little about (ie
sustaianable measures in quarrying stone :-).

However, the statement did have some resonance when you apply it to trees/
forestry, which I DO know a little about (I've gone from being a tree person
to a stone person...backwards from druid to paleolithic shaman LOL)

But questions I would ask... does the person have a point?

Back in the "olden" days - surely most stone (like trees) would have been
removed slower / less stone been removed / and without mechanical
assistance? It is very easy to be more "romantic" about old quarries /
ancient stone sites - they were smaller and had less impact on the earth.

Nowadays... I wonder if some stone removal is like clear felling - where
masses of the resource is removed and much is "damaged" in the process
(hello woodchips!!) - for the greater good, for profit, for the many????
Hello composite stone, hello concrete, goodbye cobble stones and walls made
of wonderful craftmanship and endurance using solid stones.

So perhaps "sustainable" practices in stone quarrying / removal IS an issue
- just like in so many other areas of production???? (please note I am
asking, not stating!)

AS for the "desecration" issue... I like to think that all the work that
people do in working with stone (like the people who post messages onto this
site seem to be), are perhaps - to some extent - readressing / re honouring
(because isn't de -secration to do with un -making sacred??/ destroying the
sanctity??) the earth / stone?

Regards to all

Sandra