{"id":108,"date":"2009-05-27T10:09:33","date_gmt":"2009-05-27T10:09:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/flirtingwithfaith\/2009\/05\/canary-in-a-coal-mine.html"},"modified":"2009-05-27T10:09:33","modified_gmt":"2009-05-27T10:09:33","slug":"canary-in-a-coal-mine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/flirtingwithfaith\/2009\/05\/canary-in-a-coal-mine.html","title":{"rendered":"Canary in a Coal Mine…"},"content":{"rendered":"

Woke up this morning with the chorus ‘Canary in a Coal Mine’ by the Police running through my head. (That’s Sting’s old band, for you young’uns.) \u00a0I couldn’t remember the verses. Just a continuous loop – canary in a coal mine, canary in a coal mine, canary in a coal mine.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
I am familiar with the song, the expression, and the lore of coal miners using canaries to detect gas and carbon monoxide in caves and caverns before they stepped into them. But a quick search of the term and a perusal of the lyrics paints an interesting picture. \u00a0Check it out…<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Canary in a Coal Mine Lyrics, The Police<\/div>\n

First to fall over when the atmosphere\u00a0\u00a0is less than perfect
Your sensibilities are shaken by the slightest defect
You live your life like a canary in a coalmine
You get so dizzy even walking in a straight line<\/p>\n

You say you want to spend the winter in Firenza
You’re so afraid to catch a dose of influenza
You live your life like a canary in a coalmine
You get so dizzy even walking in a straight line<\/p>\n

Canary in a coalmine<\/p>\n

Now if I tell you that you suffer from delusions
You pay your analyst to reach the same conclusions
You live your life like a canary in a coalmine
You get so dizzy even walking in a straight line<\/p>\n

Canary in a coalmine<\/p>\n

First to fall over when the atmosphere is less than perfect
Your sensibilities are shaken by the slightest defect
You live your life like a canary in a coalmine
You get so dizzy even walking in a straight line<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Canary in a coalmine\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Description of Canary in a Coal Mine (www.wisegeek.com)<\/div>\n
<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Life for an actual canary\u00a0in\u00a0a<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0coal<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0mine<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0could be described in three words – short but meaningful. Early\u00a0coal<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0mines did not feature ventilation systems, so miners would routinely bring\u00a0a<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0caged\u00a0canary<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0into new\u00a0coal<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0seams. Canaries are especially sensitive to methane\u00a0and\u00a0carbon\u00a0monoxide, which made them ideal for detecting any dangerous gas build-ups.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Today, the practice of using\u00a0a<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0canary<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0in\u00a0a<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0coal<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0mine<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0has become part of\u00a0coal<\/span><\/span><\/span>mining lore, but the ideology\u00a0behind it has become\u00a0a<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0popular expression. The phrase\u00a0living like\u00a0a<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0canary<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0in\u00a0a<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0coal<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0mine<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/em>often refers to serving as\u00a0a<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0warning to others. The actual\u00a0canary<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0in\u00a0a<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0coal<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0mine<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0had little control over its fate, but it continued to sing anyway.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
In another sense, many\u00a0analysts use the term\u00a0canary<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0in\u00a0a\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>coal<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0mine<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em>\u00a0to describe\u00a0a<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0harbinger of the future.\u00a0A<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0melting glacier in Alaska, for example, may be described as\u00a0a<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0canary<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0in\u00a0a<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0coal<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0mine<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0for global warming. One small event in an isolated area may not seem especially noteworthy, but it may offer the first tangible warning of\u00a0a<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0larger problem developing.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n
Rather than synthesize and draw conclusions, I thought I’d ask what you guys think…<\/span><\/div>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Woke up this morning with the chorus ‘Canary in a Coal Mine’ by the Police running through my head. (That’s Sting’s old band, for you young’uns.) \u00a0I couldn’t remember the verses. Just a continuous loop – canary in a coal mine, canary in a coal mine, canary in a coal mine.\u00a0 I am familiar with…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":181,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-spiritual-growth"],"yoast_head":"\nCanary in a Coal Mine... - Flirting with Faith<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/flirtingwithfaith\/2009\/05\/canary-in-a-coal-mine.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Canary in a Coal Mine... - Flirting with Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Woke up this morning with the chorus ‘Canary in a Coal Mine’ by the Police running through my head. 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