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West Virginia coal mine to layoff more than 800
What we are seeing here is what happened to our railroads sixty or more years ago. Then, the government backed rail’s competition at the expense of the industry. Today, the government is backing coal’s competition at the expense of the mining industry.
You have to wonder if the union membership regrets electing Democratic liberals all these years. Granted, market prices for natural gas has an effect on the coal industry. However, the actions of the current administration is just-if not more- devastating.
With respect Mr. Norton with cheap natural gas, shareholders demand maximum profit from utility operations resulting in mine closure. It is just supply and demand.
The evisceration of the coal business, in the Appalachians as well as “out West,” is like nothing the railroads have experienced in the past 50 years. Those who make the policies that end up as regulations have yet to answer for the hundreds of displaced railroaders and tens of thousands of coal miners and their families. I doubt those adversely impacted will ever have a chance to visit face-to-face with the policy makers.
With respect to Mr. Warner it is the state utility regulators that dictate electric rates, ergo, the utilities have no choice than to go with the cheapest fuel possible. However, as we who were in the utility industry lived through in the 1990s, gas will not be cheap forever. All parties come to an end eventually.
Gas well, pipeline, and alternative energy workers might have a differing opinion.
It’s terribly unfortunate that hard working people have to be left out of a job, but climate change is a real threat and transitioning to green energy sources needs to happen. Hopefully these people will be able to find other jobs in the environmentally friendly energy sector.
all the OBAMA meddling in the energy sector only serves as payback to his crony-capitalist donors.The next election is more important than ever.
rail charters from Laurel Horse Race Track.
West Virginia, greatergood.com and charity search engines.
How come some of you can’t understand that natural gas is both cheaper and better for the environment than coal? Then again, you probably moaned and groaned when the horsedrawn buggy industry was decimated by the automobile!
I am West Virginia born and raised and many coal workers in my family, mainly in Harrison and Upshur counties. The fact is that coal is dirty burning, gas is temporarily cheaper, and the mountain top removal mining made even us, in my own family, sick to our stomachs. WV somehow must attract new jobs as Pittsburgh did, Cleveland has to an extent, or it is just a rural Detroit or a Nevada without silver before the development of Las Vegas. Nothing lasts forevermore. My hometown had six big glass factory’s in 1969…
The article fails to mention that Alpha Natural Resources is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
First off the electric industry has been deregulated in just about all states. The first thing all the states did was make the utilities sell off all their generating facilities to private for profit companies. The legislators then said “The market will compete and that will lower electric rates”. Well third party vendors sign long term supply contracts with the power generaters and then they sell to the homeowners and the actual electric utilities. The for profit power generaters are getting rid of coal and switching to natural gas because it takes a smaller footprint and a lot fewer workers. It is profits that is driving the conversions from coal. On top of that coal exports are off because demand world wide has fallen off.
The interesting thing is here in the Northeast where the conversion from coal to natural gas is going full bore plus several Nuke plants have been closed there is a severe natural gas pipeline capacity problem. No matter where they try to either run new lines or upgrade existing ones locals are fighting against it tooth and nail. The trouble is we also have the highest electric rates in the country.