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Also see: Climate change; energy; carbon capture; Clean Power Plan; Stream Protection
Rule;
Undated:Coal mining in the United States is an industry in transition. Production
in 2017 was down 33% from the peak production of 1,162.7 million tons (about
1054.8 million metric tonnes) in 2006. Employment of 50,000 coal miners is down
from a peak of 883,000 in 1923.[1]
Generation of electricity is the largest user of coal, being used to produce 50%
of electric power in 2005 and 30% in 2016.[2]:1
The U.S. is a net exporter of coal. U.S. coal exports, for which Europe is the
largest customer, peaked in 2012.[3]
In 2015, the U.S. exported 7.0 percent of mined coal.[4]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal_mining_in_the_United_States
Editorial note: During the early to mid-20th Century, the village of
Hibbing, Minnesota opted to use the beautiful East Swan River for a sewage dump,
since that was the least expensive option for getting rid of human waste from
the growing village. That
river flowed south through farming communities, emptying into the St.
Louis River which flows into Lake Superior. Farmers all along both rivers (not
to mention properties at Lake Superior itself) used the flow as a valuable source of water for themselves and their livestock, for bathing, washing clothes, swimming, for
irrigation into fields and gardens, and some struggled through the filthy waters
to float logs down to the Cloquet, Minnesota paper mills. The water was heavily
fouled with the stench of urine and fecal matter from thousands of people living
in and around the Hibbing area, resulting in a local nickname for the river of "Sh*t
Creek".
Iron mines also used the river, dumping millions
of tons of iron ore tailings into the water. After Hibbing had to cease dumping
sewage in 1939, the river was still polluted because of the mines, and was a
deep red ore color, turning the flesh of fish a red-orange and making them
inedible.
The idea of regularly and purposely polluting any American stream for any reason
is in the editor's estimation reprehensible (except of course during emergency).
Today due to Minnesota State legal restrictions against polluters, the East Swan
River is rather back to its natural state, although ongoing monitoring does show
some bacterial pollution problems.
All of America needs control over corporate and untoward public interests to
prevent ruination as of the East Swan in the 1900s. No river, no community,
should suffer polluted waters due to lack of controls. Since some states
have little funding for non-urgent issues, Federal control and funding
assistance seems to be the only
good answer to aim for pure waters in all communities, to ensure that even poor
areas can comply.
May 24: ... there is a lot outside a
president’s control when it comes to coal. These include: sinking prices
for natural gas and renewable energy that have made coal far less
competitive; other markets’, like China’s, demand for coal; and coal production
moving from Appalachia to Wyoming, now the top U.S. coal producer, where it’s
cheaper to mine.
March 28:
On February 2 ... Mitch McConnell ushered through the repeal of the Stream
Protection Rule ... President Donald Trump ordered his administration to begin
dismantling his predecessor’s climate change policies on Tuesday with a sweeping
directive to end what he called a "crushing attack" on the U.S. economy — by
halting efforts to reduce the carbon pollution of electric utilities, oil and
gas drillers and coal miners.But since that ... vote in early February, this is how
many new coal jobs have been created in Appalachia: Zero. And there are
no signs there are any coming anytime soon: Tyler White, president of the
Kentucky Coal Association, couldn’t say how many jobs he thought the repeal of
the rule would create, “but I can tell you that it definitely will help stop the
bleeding.” ...
global demand for coal is slowing, and coal from Wyoming costs a
fraction of the coal from Appalachia
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/03/donald-trump-obama-climate-change-policies-236570
October 10: Coal industry says Trump's
repeal of Obama-era rule saves jobs
Murray Energy, whose CEO
Robert Murray
Opens a New Window. was a vocal opponent of President Obama’s
coal-related regulations, said scrapping the Clean Power Plan has saved over
25,000 jobs.
“We fully support President Trump and Administrator Pruitt’s decision to fully
repeal the so-called Clean Power Plan,” Murray Energy said in a statement. “We
will continue to work with the President Trump’s Administration to preserve
low-cost, reliable electricity in America, and to protect the thousands of jobs
and family livelihoods that rely on the United States coal industry.”
http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/10/10/coal-industry-says-trumps-repeal-obama-era-rule-saves-jobs.html
November 1: Awaiting Trump's coal comeback,
miners reject retraining ... When Mike Sylvester entered a career training
center earlier this year in southwestern Pennsylvania, he found more than one
hundred federally funded courses covering everything from computer programming
to nursing.
He settled instead on something familiar: a coal mining course. ...
November 2: Kentucky coal report shows no
sustained job rebound so far under Trump
There were more coal miners on the job in Kentucky from July through September
than in the same period a year ago, but the number dropped from earlier in 2017,
indicating no sustained employment rebound so far under the Trump
Administration.
http://www.kentucky.com/news/state/article182371386.html
November 21: When then candidate Donald
Trump put on [his] miner's hard hat in front of a crowd of thousands at the
Charleston Civic Center in May 2016 with a pledge to bring back coal jobs, he
became the unofficial king of coal country.
November 29:The New
Tragedy of Coal Country ... The Trump
administration has successfully convinced West Virginians that they'll never
have to give up on coal.
But the case that repealing the Clean Power Plan will save the
coal industry is weak, and Republicans and the coal industry know it.
December 27: Trump’s promises have some coal
miners optimistic — so they’re staying in the industry
The coal industry has rebounded — a bit. This has more to do with foreign demand
and rising natural gas prices than any of Trump’s pro-coal policies, said Dan
Klein of S&P Global Platts, a company that analyzes energy trends.
“There's been very little measurable impact of what the administration has done
and to be honest there's very little that could be done,” Klein said.
January: Coal's last kick ... As clean
energy rises, West Virginia looks past Trump's embrace of coal to what comes
next.
http://time.com/coals-last-kick/
January 10: Mine closing wipes out many of
Trump's coal job gains ... Despite many promises from President Trump that
he would bring back coal jobs, the industry has only added 500 jobs, or a 1%
increase, during his first year in office.
Mr. Trump has
recognized America has a thousand years of energy under its feet and has spoken
the words which forces the Left to cover their ears in horror: Drill baby drill.
In Mr. Trump’s
mind, and rightfully so, energy independence is a national security priority.
Threat Assessment feels the same way and will continue to add to the discussion
in this critical area for our country’s future.
The most refreshing change has been
Mr. Trump’s
embrace of clean coal and associated technologies, to the delight of coal miners
in West Virginia and elsewhere. If the Middle East has oil, America has coal — a
lot of it. According to the Energy Information Agency, as of Jan. 1, 2017, the
U.S. had 476 billion short tons of coal, or roughly a quarter of the world’s
proven coal reserves.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/mar/5/trump-energy-plan-climate-changer-clean-coal/
April 4: President Trump has yet to save the
struggling coal industry, numbers show ... Trump repeated a promise that he made
often during his campaign for president.
“You’re going back to work,” he said to nods of approval and applause.
But not much has changed for the nation’s ailing coal industry since Trump moved
into the White House.
Coal employment and production are up just slightly, coal consumption is down,
and coal prices have fallen a little below where they were the day that Trump
took office.
May 12: Revenge of the dinosaurs:
Administration seeks technology to revive coal
In a sign of just how serious the Trump administration is about bolstering the
declining coal industry, the federal Department of Energy is requesting designs
for smaller, theoretically more efficient “modular” coal plants. This comes as
natural gas has captured an increasing share of the electricity market, while
prices for renewable energy sources like wind and solar continue to drop, making
coal an increasingly unattractive option for energy producers.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/revenge-dinosaurs-administration-seeks-technology-revive-coal-090033494.html
June 1: Trump administration officials are making plans to order grid
operators to buy electricity from struggling coal and nuclear plants in an
effort to extend their life, a move that could represent an unprecedented
intervention into U.S. energy markets.
The Energy Department would exercise emergency authority under a pair of federal
laws to direct the operators to purchase electricity or electric generation
capacity from at-risk facilities, according to a memo obtained by Bloomberg
News. The agency also is making plans to establish a "Strategic Electric
Generation Reserve" with the aim of promoting the national defense and
maximizing domestic energy supplies.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-01/trump-said-to-grant-lifeline-to-money-losing-coal-power-plants-jhv94ghl
Government data show the United States added about 2,000 coal mining jobs since
Trump took office, but economists say the change is not statistically
significant.
... nearly two years since he was elected president, the needle has barely
budged on U.S. coal mining employment. The long decline in job losses appears to
have leveled off — and may be ticking higher — but there are still few signs
that a revival on the scale Trump has promised is on the horizon.
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/23/trump-says-the-coal-industry-is-back-the-data-say-otherwise.html
September 22:
Gray muck is flowing into the Cape Fear River from the site of a
dam breach at a Wilmington power plant where an old coal ash dump had been
covered over by Florence's floodwaters.
Forecasters predicted the water will continue to rise through the weekend at the
L.V. Sutton Power Station. Duke Energy spokeswoman Paige Sheehan said the
utility doesn't believe the breach poses a significant threat of increased
flooding to nearby communities.
December 6: Trump's EPA Plans To Ease Carbon Emissions Rule For New Coal Plants
The Trump administration plans to eliminate an Obama-era requirement that new
coal-fired power plants have expensive technology to capture carbon dioxide
emissions.
Undated: We are not holding our breath that
President Trump will start backing up his administration’s environmental agenda
with scientific facts. But we are holding him accountable for what he says.
President Trump’s torrent of misleading statements and flat-out lies has an army
of journalists working 24/7 to set the record straight. To help those who focus,
as we do, on climate, energy, and other environmental issues, NRDC will call out
Trump whenever he distorts the facts about such matters. Here, we offer our
inaugural edition of Trump Lies. We expect to update it regularly. https://www.nrdc.org/trump-lies
December 16:
6th Largest US Coal Company Files For Chapter 11 Bankruptcy
With 19 mines in the US and in Canada, Westmoreland Coal Co. is the 6th largest
coal company in America, but it recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
The
Denver Post recently reported the company had $1.4 billion in debt.
“After months of thoughtful and productive conversations with our creditors, we
have developed a plan that allows Westmoreland to operate as usual while
positioning Westmoreland for long-term success,”
said Westmoreland’s interim CEO, Michael Hutchinson.
December 18: An Epidemic Is Killing
Thousands Of Coal Miners. Regulators Could Have Stopped It
... an NPR/Frontline analysis of federal regulatory data — decades of
information recorded by dust-collection monitors placed where coal miners work —
has revealed a tragic failure to recognize and respond to clear signs of danger.
