The Trump administration’s Department of the Interior has asked the National Academy of Sciences to suspend research into the health effects of mountaintop removal coal mining. A team from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine was established last year for a two-year study. The committee has been conducting hearings and […]
Read MoreAuthor: Glynis Board
Coal Hard Cash: WV Governor Wants Federal Money For Eastern Coal
The country’s newest Republican governor is, like President Donald Trump, a billionaire businessman, a political outsider, and a fan of the coal industry. West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, a former coal company owner, was elected as a Democrat but switched parties with a surprise announcement at a Trump rally in West Virginia. […]
Read MoreEnergy secretary Rick Perry’s Coal Economics Leaves Economists Puzzled
Energy Secretary Rick Perry toured a modern and relatively clean coal-fired power plant in West Virginia in order to tout the benefits of coal in a competitive energy market. But the secretary’s comments generated some controversy. The coal industry has been feeling the heat from natural gas as electric utilities […]
Read MoreCommittee Hears More About Deadly Black Lung Resurgence
While President Trump is wrapping up a week of energy talks in Washington highlighting the benefits of coal, health and industry experts met in Morgantown, West Virginia, to discuss the resurgence of black lung disease among miners. Health researchers have called the recent rates of dust-induced lung disease in coal miners historically […]
Read MoreCoal Country’s Mixed Views on the Paris Climate Accord
Many political leaders in the Ohio Valley approve of President Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate agreement. But surveys indicate that public opinion across the region varies, with a slight majority saying they’d like the country to stay the course on climate change. According to a Yale […]
Read MoreA Coal Comeback? Analysis Casts Doubt on Industry’s Chances
Can coal make a comeback? That’s the title of a new report from Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy. Researchers there analyzed the factors leading to the coal industry’s sharp decline over the past six years and assessed the Trump administration’s efforts to revive it. The report casts doubt […]
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