I don't know if he's saying that nuclear energy is bad or that fossil fuels are bad. It's a great song, like all the others on the album, i just can't figure it out.
Both are bad. He's saying that coal mining is dangerous, nasty, polluting job, but the people in the industry have no where to go. At the same time, nuclear power is not safe and they act like they can control it but can't (they still can't figure out what to do with the radioactive waste). Thus "one day in a nuclear age/they may understand our rage..."
It could be seen as a commentary on "progress" as well. This is the dirty work that makes general bearable living of "Civilization" possible. People deep underground, stained black and...
Both are bad. He's saying that coal mining is dangerous, nasty, polluting job, but the people in the industry have no where to go. At the same time, nuclear power is not safe and they act like they can control it but can't (they still can't figure out what to do with the radioactive waste). Thus "one day in a nuclear age/they may understand our rage..."
It could be seen as a commentary on "progress" as well. This is the dirty work that makes general bearable living of "Civilization" possible. People deep underground, stained black and getting sick, so that we may turn on the lights at home. And when the coal is gone, what will happen to them?
All the more reason why we should think before we act, and consider the costs of industry....
Oh yeah, and there is no safe amount of any radioactive element. Anything radioactive can cause problems in humans.
I don't know if he's saying that nuclear energy is bad or that fossil fuels are bad. It's a great song, like all the others on the album, i just can't figure it out.
Both are bad. He's saying that coal mining is dangerous, nasty, polluting job, but the people in the industry have no where to go. At the same time, nuclear power is not safe and they act like they can control it but can't (they still can't figure out what to do with the radioactive waste). Thus "one day in a nuclear age/they may understand our rage..." It could be seen as a commentary on "progress" as well. This is the dirty work that makes general bearable living of "Civilization" possible. People deep underground, stained black and...
Both are bad. He's saying that coal mining is dangerous, nasty, polluting job, but the people in the industry have no where to go. At the same time, nuclear power is not safe and they act like they can control it but can't (they still can't figure out what to do with the radioactive waste). Thus "one day in a nuclear age/they may understand our rage..." It could be seen as a commentary on "progress" as well. This is the dirty work that makes general bearable living of "Civilization" possible. People deep underground, stained black and getting sick, so that we may turn on the lights at home. And when the coal is gone, what will happen to them?
All the more reason why we should think before we act, and consider the costs of industry....
Oh yeah, and there is no safe amount of any radioactive element. Anything radioactive can cause problems in humans.