I just marvel at the people who don't realize that water, hydrocarbons, minerals and metals and other raw materials along with plant life all come up out of the crust of the earth, but as you say are inert without the magic of G*d's greatest creation... the creatures created in his image.
It just cracks me up the way EnvironMentalists try to turn the concept of "resource extractors" into a despicable pejoritive term. They try to convince everyone that neither man, nor petroleum are naturally a part of G*d's blue/green earth.
Considering how mining has and is occasionally still done, the term is often deserved. What I don't understand about mining is why they don't turn the site into something useful and interesting when they're done. Hell, they could even hire a watercolor artist to arrange the tailings into interesting array and make something beautiful.
It can be done you know.