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Op-Ed: Trump’s empty promises to coal industry doomed to failure

When President Trump signed the executive order at the EPA undoing the widely-supported Obama-era directives on clean air and water, it was proof that he was going through with his attempts to revive the fossil fuel industry, however, as Time.com is reporting, besides the damage to our health and businesses, Trump’s policies are doomed to failure.

The Trump administration’s first huge mistake is ignoring solid scientific evidence on climate change. We are already seeing the signs, from devastating storms and flooding to droughts that have brought on famine and starvation. Trump’s pick of Scott Pruitt to lead the EPA was no accident, either. His assertion that carbon dioxide is not causing climate change is rejected by 97 percent of the scientific community. Ideology doesn’t even come close to nature, and nature is going to win every time.

Flood waters reach up to the bottom of Swinging Bridge in Yosemite National Park on Sunday.

Flood waters reach up to the bottom of Swinging Bridge in Yosemite National Park on Sunday.
NWS


Mistake number 2 is Trump’s assertion that to revive the fossil fuel industry, reopening federal lands to mining and lifting the moratorium on coal mining leases will help the industry, while doing away with regulations on clean air and water will allow coal mines in Appalachia to reopen, putting thousands of miners back to work.

What about those coal mining leases?
As Digital Journal pointed out earlier this month, Obama’s Clean Power Plan and the continuation of the moratorium on coal mining leases was well received by hundreds of companies. It was also pointed out that the Trump camp’s war on environmental regulations they claim are hurting the economy and jobs was in keeping with his campaign promises.

Wyoming produces 40 percent of the country s coal.

Wyoming produces 40 percent of the country’s coal.
Unknown via Wikimedia


But Trump failed to tell the American public that U.S. coal companies won’t be looking to secure new reserves of the fossil fuel on federal land because they have plenty of reserves on hand. Companies like Peabody Energy, Arch Coal, and Cloud Pea have enough coal in the ground at existing leases to last another 15 or more years, according to Reuters.

“No one’s looking for new coal reserves,” said Robert Godby, a professor of energy economics at the University of Wyoming. “The decline in coal demand has meant existing reserves will last a lot longer.” And there is a reason for this, according to Bloomberg – In a nutshell, cheap natural gas and renewable energy.

Coal is the obvious loser in all this
It is difficult to overlook or deny the facts, folks. Statistics and data on the fossil fuel industry in the United States isn’t made up to push anyone’s agenda, they are real. In February, Digital Journal reported “natural gas and renewable energy sources made up nearly half of all electricity production in the nation in 2016, up from 38 percent in 2011. Coal has lagged behind at 30 percent, the lowest it has been in 70 years when officials started keeping records.”

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EIA


In the U.S. Energy Information Agency’s (EIA) February short-term energy outlook report, the EIA states: “U.S. coal production is estimated to have declined by 158 million short tons (MMst) (18%) in 2016, to 739 MMst, which would be the lowest level since 1978.” The report then says that coal-fired electricity generation in 2017 is expected to contribute to a 3.0 percent increase in coal production. They add that coal production will see an additional increase of 1.0 percent in 2018.

At the end of 2015, according to the EIA, there were 427 coal-fired power plants across the U.S. producing electricity, out of a total of 7,658 power plants. More coal-fired power plants are in line to be retired over the next few years, being replaced by clean natural gas and/or renewables.

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EIA


The bottom line in all this data is simply this – President Trump has given the coal industry an empty promise. Coal will not make a comeback as an important source of energy in this country. It’s a dirty fossil fuel and the majority of Americans don’t want to be breathing its noxious fumes. Everyone’s getting used to breathing cleaner air again.

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We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of our dear friend Karen Graham, who served as Editor-at-Large at Digital Journal. She was 78 years old. Karen's view of what is happening in our world was colored by her love of history and how the past influences events taking place today. Her belief in humankind's part in the care of the planet and our environment has led her to focus on the need for action in dealing with climate change. It was said by Geoffrey C. Ward, "Journalism is merely history's first draft." Everyone who writes about what is happening today is indeed, writing a small part of our history.

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