Coal was once the major energy source for most of the industrial world. Not so much anymore – it is no longer competitive with natural gas but solar and wind as well. This has resulted in some major economic displacement in states like West Virginia. West Virginia was once a place of beautiful mountains and marvelous scenery. Thanks to the coal industry it is now a vast wasteland. Indeed, King Coal Is Dead.
As Laura Gottesdiener demonstrates so graphically in today’s post, many West Virginians are indeed suffering from the decline of the coal industry. But if they allow themselves to be used as pawns in a struggle by King Coal, corporate lobbyists, and Republican hard-liners to fight progress on climate change, they are doing themselves (and the rest of us) an enormous disservice. Nothing can save the coal industry in the face of market forces — especially the boom in natural gas extracted from shale deposits via fracking — and the relentless advance of climate change. If Morrisey and his cohorts had West Virginia’s true interests at heart, they would be petitioning for federal funds to turn the state into an innovation center for clean energy — the only sure path to economic growth in a climate-ravaged world. In the meantime, let TomDispatch regular Gottesdiener take you on a tour of what’s left of King Coal’s once mighty domain.
I read yesterday that German automaker BMW plans to be all electric by 2020. Like it or not the age of fossil fuel is over. Yes, the populations of West Virginia, Ohio and parts of of Pennsylvania may suffer in the short term. With 4,000 people dying a day from air pollution even China realizes it must wean itself from coal. As a result the Australian economy is suffering.
Coal in large part was responsible for the industrial revolution but it’s reign is over. Yes we will still need some coal to make steel but it will no longer be a primary source of power. We should be looking for ways to ease the transition for areas like West Virginia not trying to keep coal mining viable.