Coal’s Decline Seems Impervious to Trump’s Promises

[Trish]

Last year, coal consumption in the United States fell by 2.4 percent, falling to its lowest level in nearly four decades. In the early weeks of 2018, national coal production has continued to decline from a year ago despite the frigid winter. A weather-related increase in exports last year yielded a modest gain in jobs, but it is not considered sustainable.

The decline in demand has forced a 38 percent drop in the nation’s coal production in a little less than a decade. Now only the most efficient mines containing the highest-quality coal are able to survive.


Mr. Trump won 68 percent of the county’s vote — 10 percentage points more than Mitt Romney four years before — with his promises to revive the coal industry. Most of the miners say they continue to support him despite their turn in fortunes.

“He’s trying his best,” said Rick Glover, a 4 West mine conveyor-belt attendant. “You can’t change the country overnight.”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/co...XWe?li=BBnb7Kz

[MisterVeritis]

Last year, coal consumption in the United States fell by 2.4 percent, falling to its lowest level in nearly four decades. In the early weeks of 2018, national coal production has continued to decline from a year ago despite the frigid winter. A weather-related increase in exports last year yielded a modest gain in jobs, but it is not considered sustainable.

The decline in demand has forced a 38 percent drop in the nation’s coal production in a little less than a decade. Now only the most efficient mines containing the highest-quality coal are able to survive.


Mr. Trump won 68 percent of the county’s vote — 10 percentage points more than Mitt Romney four years before — with his promises to revive the coal industry. Most of the miners say they continue to support him despite their turn in fortunes.

“He’s trying his best,” said Rick Glover, a 4 West mine conveyor-belt attendant. “You can’t change the country overnight.”

The government is no longer stepping on their necks. Obama did an enormous amount of damage to real people.

[Trish]

The government is no longer stepping on their necks. Obama did an enormous amount of damage to real people.

Yes, the story mentions that the safety regulations have been rolled back but the decline never really had to do with regulations but more with the market. The market for this type of coal has been steadily decreasing. This is what experts tried to tell those in coal but they refused to entertain anything other than the gov't was the problem.

This is not going to get any better for these families. It's time they realize reality and prepare for their next career move.

[Dr. Who]

Yes, the story mentions that the safety regulations have been rolled back but the decline never really had to do with regulations but more with the market. The market for this type of coal has been steadily decreasing. This is what experts tried to tell those in coal but they refused to entertain anything other than the gov't was the problem.

This is not going to get any better for these families. It's time they realize reality and prepare for their next career move.

Coal is filthy technology and most of the western world has been getting rid of coal fired plants because of the pollution. Even China, after their air has often become unbreathable is looking for alternative energy. Trump's promises were ignorant of the reality and opportunistic. He was taking advantage of peoples' desperation. That is very sad and dishonest.

[Crepitus]

Last year, coal consumption in the United States fell by 2.4 percent, falling to its lowest level in nearly four decades. In the early weeks of 2018, national coal production has continued to decline from a year ago despite the frigid winter. A weather-related increase in exports last year yielded a modest gain in jobs, but it is not considered sustainable.

The decline in demand has forced a 38 percent drop in the nation’s coal production in a little less than a decade. Now only the most efficient mines containing the highest-quality coal are able to survive.


Mr. Trump won 68 percent of the county’s vote — 10 percentage points more than Mitt Romney four years before — with his promises to revive the coal industry. Most of the miners say they continue to support him despite their turn in fortunes.

“He’s trying his best,” said Rick Glover, a 4 West mine conveyor-belt attendant. “You can’t change the country overnight.”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/co...XWe?li=BBnb7Kz

Economics has far more to do with coal's fall from favor than any government policy.

[Boris The Animal]

Coal is filthy technology and most of the western world has been getting rid of coal fired plants because of the pollution. Even China, after their air has often become unbreathable is looking for alternative energy. Trump's promises were ignorant of the reality and opportunistic. He was taking advantage of peoples' desperation. That is very sad and dishonest.

Problem is what about the coal miners and their families. This is all they know, and no amount of education nor retraining will ever replace this as there is nothing out there. And we saw the same thing with the steelworkers when over 9,000 lost their jobs in 1983 when Bethlehem shuttered their doors.

[Dr. Who]

Problem is what about the coal miners and their families. This is all they know, and no amount of education nor retraining will ever replace this as there is nothing out there. And we saw the same thing with the steelworkers when over 9,000 lost their jobs in 1983 when Bethlehem shuttered their doors.

The same thing happened in all manner of 19th-century industries. People have to adapt and some cannot because they are too old to retrain. That's why we need a social safety net. Unfortunately, in a lot of coal mining country, the educational standard is very low and that makes retraining for the younger people that much more difficult. In the long run, it's probably a good thing that young men are not going into coal mines to end up with lung disease and the system will have to prepare young people for a much different world.

As I have said to others, the transition from 20th-century tech to the 21st century is not the same as the transition from the 19th century to the 20th. Literacy and mathematics are far more important now. It's not just a matter of transferring physical skills.

[Common]

Last year, coal consumption in the United States fell by 2.4 percent, falling to its lowest level in nearly four decades. In the early weeks of 2018, national coal production has continued to decline from a year ago despite the frigid winter. A weather-related increase in exports last year yielded a modest gain in jobs, but it is not considered sustainable.

The decline in demand has forced a 38 percent drop in the nation’s coal production in a little less than a decade. Now only the most efficient mines containing the highest-quality coal are able to survive.


Mr. Trump won 68 percent of the county’s vote — 10 percentage points more than Mitt Romney four years before — with his promises to revive the coal industry. Most of the miners say they continue to support him despite their turn in fortunes.

“He’s trying his best,” said Rick Glover, a 4 West mine conveyor-belt attendant. “You can’t change the country overnight.”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/co...XWe?li=BBnb7Kz

Trump cant guarantee sales of any commodity, he can only reduce regulations that impede the sale of any commodity like coal. Trump has done everything possible to help the coal industry.

Coal is in decline because Energy Producers have nuclear and gas fired power plants.
They are building 4 new plants in fla and they are natural gas plants.

I dont think anyone burns coal in their homes anymore, when I was a kid thats all you had was coal furnaces. WHAT A PAIN IN THE ASS getting woke up in the middle of a freezing night and having to go all the way to the basement to shovel coal and stoke it till its burning and then still you had 45 mins to get the apt warmed

[Kacper]

Coal is filthy technology and most of the western world has been getting rid of coal fired plants because of the pollution. Even China, after their air has often become unbreathable is looking for alternative energy. Trump's promises were ignorant of the reality and opportunistic. He was taking advantage of peoples' desperation. That is very sad and dishonest.

Not exactly true. Germany burns a crap ton of coal and they burn the worst kind of it for the environment. They are getting rid of nuclear which only leaves fossil fuels as their standby power source

https://www.bloomberg.com/view/artic...-too-much-coal

[Kacper]

The same thing happened in all manner of 19th-century industries. People have to adapt and some cannot because they are too old to retrain. That's why we need a social safety net. Unfortunately, in a lot of coal mining country, the educational standard is very low and that makes retraining for the younger people that much more difficult. In the long run, it's probably a good thing that young men are not going into coal mines to end up with lung disease and the system will have to prepare young people for a much different world.

As I have said to others, the transition from 20th-century tech to the 21st century is not the same as the transition from the 19th century to the 20th. Literacy and mathematics are far more important now. It's not just a matter of transferring physical skills.

In "coal mining country" there aren't a lot of jobs to be retrained for. Has nothing to do with "educational standards". You reflect the same faulty thinking that Clinton showed in her "I'm going to kill coal!!!" platform. Other than the mines, you have Dollar Stores, Walmart and groceries to work for unless you have enough pull to get a job with the state highway department or something like that. You cannot train people for jobs that don't exist and won't exist in these areas in the workers' lifetimes.