Obviously, you're viewing this web page on a computer. A computer that runs on electricity... that is produced with coal... that is obtained through mining.

From the stone age to the bronze age, the ages of iron and coal, the industrial revolution, and the information age, mining has been the first step in progress and evolution. Today, practically everything you do, use, or wear depends on mining or quarrying: seismic exploration in pursuit of oil and gas deposits; quarrying for the stone used in construction; and mining for minerals used in the manufacture of clothing, housewares, furniture and electronics. And they all depend on explosives.

Perhaps it would profit all of us to learn something about these industries that affect nearly every aspect of our daily lives in America.