I want to assert that I don’t support the coal industry. I think the usage of coal has contributed to climate change, as coal-fired power plants were the main source of CO2 emissions in the United States in 2007.
I support renewable energy and subsidies for wind, solar and nuclear energy. However, coal miners have been hurt by members of both political parties and are evidence of the dangerous trend of making political promises that can’t be kept.
The National Mining Association reported in 2014 that 74,931 people worked as coal miners. The majority were in the Appalachian region, specifically West Virginia and Kentucky. This number has drastically decreased from previous years and is at its lowest point in 35 years, with major coal companies like Arch Coal declaring bankruptcy and 191,000 layoffs in the last two years.
The coal industry is slowly dying. This is due to various reasons, including higher regulation standard imposed by the Clean Power Plan; a shift to natural gas; and the price of the products and competition, both local and domestic. This decline means that more coal miners are losing their jobs and likely means that this trend will continue in the future.
The future for coal miners is bleak. Unless you ask Trump, that is.
Trump said he was “the last shot for the miners.” His plan is to remove regulations on coal. However, this doesn’t address the fact that other energy sources have become cheaper and it would need subsidies in order to become competitive.
Hillary Clinton’s plan is to retrain workers and offer better education, disregarding the fact that the average age for a miner is 55 and that job retraining’s success is iffy at best.
The coal industry is in trouble, as are its workers. For years, coal has brought well-paying jobs to primarily rural areas, but it’s not a sustainable option anymore. It’s right to acknowledge that and recommend that people go into different fields. However, it’s the political manipulation of miners that is cruelest.
The industry will continue to lay off workers because it is not as profitable as it was before. There will be fewer miners in the future as new sources of energy arise, and it will likely not be as profitable job in the future. It’s ok to tell people that. Instead of promising jobs that Trump cannot bring back or retraining that will likely not work, politicians should acknowledge this to their constituents. Even more, promising good things to come is both cruel and manipulative.
Because it’s an election year, everything is a political move. With that being said, I think targeting a vulnerable group like miners is cruel.
Politics should be about what we can do better for the next generation. The next generation is going to have fight the effects of climate change as well as deal with being able ta afford to power the rest of the country.
Coal does not appear to be a viable option anymore, and I think that coal miners can acknowledge that fact as well. Let’s not treat them as though they are children and give them false hope.
npatwari@indiana.edu
