In eastern Kentucky, my home state, there's a lot of belly aching about how President Barack Obama has waged a war on coal. I think most rational people know that the easily available coal has been mostly mined out, making it more expensive to mine the deeper, thinner veins of coal that lie deep within the mountains. So that's what's really making coal unviable. Kentucky is wasting way far too much time mourning an industry and energy source that has seen its day. It's positively maudlin.
Money that was supposed to be spent on re-educating coal miners to do other work has, instead, been squandered on dubious projects, like Pikeville, Kentucky's expo center. That pork barrel brings very little revenue into the city, and even fewer jobs, relative to its construction cost.
Meanwhile, according to the Renewable Energy Policy Network, wind and solar energy projects are growing and delivering new energy at a brisk rate. Renewable energy is a growing field.
Please join me in demanding that Kentucky politicians quit sentimentalizing an industry which gave black lung to a whole generation of Appalachian men, and, instead, invest in solar and wind energy projects that will provide employment to former coal miners.
Dear Mr. Bevin and Kentucky State Legislature Members:
If you are still mourning the passing of coal, you need to quit living in the past. I don't deny that coal played a huge part in the development of our state. It employed a number of people who are rightly proud to have brought energy to a great number of homes and businesses. However, pretending that coal has not seen its day is a terrible mistake. Coal is increasingly harder and more expensive to mine, and the ecological costs of it are far too high. You need to be finding ways to replace coal jobs with jobs in the renewable energy sector which is growing fast and providing many employment and business opportunities. Please quit sentimentalizing an industry which gave black lung to a whole generation of Appalachian men, and, instead, invest in solar and wind energy projects that will provide employment to former coal miners.
