Coal is a curse. It’s also a blessing .. and an industry in deep trouble, not just because of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Coal is in trouble partly because the coal industry has preferred to buy politicians than pay for modernization. That bill is due.
Natural gas is cheaper to produce and burns cleaner. That’s why, after decades when coal supplied half the power used in the U.S., it’s now down to 32 percent.
Mitt Romney champions coal and blames President Obama for its troubles. But love him or hate him, Obama is not the problem, nor is his much-publicized EPA.
The problem is energy economics. Subtract the cost of regulation, and coal would still be costlier than natural gas.
The one strategy that might improve job prospects for miners is sustained public-private investment in infrastructure. Doing so might not create lots of mining jobs, but miners are resourceful and can build as well as drill, if given the chance.
— The Whitesburg (Ky.) Mountain Eagle
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