How to End the War on Coal

An excerpt from The RP’s latest column in The Daily Beast:

The right is right: President Obama is waging a War on Coal.  But his fierce, regulatory-based offensive was an inevitable consequence of the GOP’s unrelenting war on the President and his climate policy.  Unless the two sides sign a truce — and put meaningful energy into breakthrough cleaner coal technologies — not only will rural Appalachia be devastated in the crossfire, but our planet’s long term health will suffer.

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Nestled into the Appalachian hills, hollers, and hamlets of my old Kentucky home, you’ll find a largely poor but proud people, mostly united by a passion for God, Wildcat basketball and a simple black mineral that serves as the bedrock of the region’s sense of self.  Thanks to more than a century’s worth of deep family connections to the mining vocation, as well as a brilliant decade-long public relations campaign waged by the industry, most Eastern Kentuckians share a profound emotional tie to the black rock, and a jaundiced resentment toward those outsider elites who want to deprive them of their geological birthright.

So, as the coal business suffers markedly — just last week, a study revealed that Kentucky coal jobs are at their lowest level since the state started counting in 1927 — most locals follow the lead of their political leadership and level their fury against President Obama’s “War on Coal.” And while the resurgence of cheap natural gas is the primary factor in Appalachian coal’s declining competitiveness, there’s no question that a significant threat to the economic viability of the region has been posed by the Obama EPA’s increased regulation of coal powered plants and mining projects (only one permit has been issued in the past three years for new or expanded surface mining in Eastern Kentucky).

The good news is that a middle ground can be reached that helps boost the region’s economy, while promoting energy independence and a healthier global environment: development of affordable, cutting-edge technologies that enable coal combustion with dramatically reduced greenhouse gas emissions. The challenge is that any broadbased employment of cleaner coal solutions will require both sides of the debate to reach for common ground.  And that’s a daunting prospect given our hyper-partisan, polarized system.

Click here to read “How to End the War on Coal”