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The Washingon Post ran this article pointing out that more people work for Arby’s than are employed in coal and it has since turned into an overused example of why Trump can’t save the coal industry. Here’s why I don’t see the point in comparing these two career paths.
Average starting yearly salary at Arby’s = $20,000-$25,000 and that’s estimating on the high side
Average Coal industry starting yearly salary= $60,000 (2010 numbers, some estimates are now at $78,000)
So yes while Coal directly employs only about 77,000, its impact on the economy cannot be ignored. Including the fact that a huge chunk of the US electric grid is powered by coal, not frigging hamburgers!
The thousands that directly work for coal are multiplied dozens of times when you look at those whom they help support and those who work in ancillary positions of coal and companies that use coal. Families, neighborhood businesses, transportation companies, truckers, boat captains, train engineers, the list goes on for miles.
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This is a multi-stage problem that’s not as simple as, “let them do something else.” I grew up in Coal Country, and when the mines were shut down at various times, it impacted every business around. That’s why people are so passionate about it; it just doesn’t affect some rich coal magnate it hits entire communities and in some instances state economies.
We need cleaner energy sources, and we need to find better alternatives to coal, but it has to be a process that doesn’t leave even more people in poverty.
Training to new types of energy production is a start, for those that are in a position of adaptability, it still only scratches the surface of the problem. You have to keep in mind that to many Coal isn’t just a job, it’s a way of life. It’s generational and a family bond. It’s like telling lifelong offshore fishing families that you’ll train them to run a kale farm.
Technology changes and industry evolves, I get that. But we have done such a poor job up until this point of preparing for the change that at this stage trying to flip the switch will be like turning an aircraft carrier with a kayak. It’s gonna take a while.
The work to do isn’t just with the coal industry itself but with all the manufacturers that still use coal in their processes to decide on better or more efficient alternatives when those are available. Much of that work is already being done, and we see its effects on coal.
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Trump can use the anti-EPA rhetoric because in many ways EPA regulations have hurt the coal industry as well. There can be a debate about whether that is a good or a bad thing. I would suppose however that most people want cleaner energy, less pollution, and more efficient ways of production of electricity and other products of burning coal.
Also, a tough sell to tell them Trump can’t possibly help them when they see cargo ship after cargo ship coming into port with thousands of short tons of Columbian coal on its back. I know he’s full of it, and most of you know he’s full of it but when people need hope and see even the slightest possibility, they are going to latch on.
Here are some of the real dangers with what Trump is doing. Beyond the damage to the planet, he is enlarging yet another us vs. them argument. Another way to divide people and put them into opposing groups. He’s shutting down the conversation and eliminating any real debate on the issue. One side attacks coal as an unviable and unclean source of pollution that is destroying the planet. The other side sees and feels that as a personal attack on their livelihood and a way of life going back generations.
He’s also given thousands of people a false sense of security. Many coal miner will go to sleep tonight feeling more secure in his future because of Trump. Many families are at ease because they believe he has saved them from economic doom. Unfortunately, he hasn’t, and he has most likely made the end result more devastating.
With President Trump backing out of the Paris agreement, the United States has given up much of its ability to control the future of the world’s energy decisions. Those decisions will now be made without any U.S. representation at the table. There is no sign that any other nation has a real desire to hang on to coal as a means of energy production. When that begins to kick in is when U.S. coal producers will feel the pain.
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We export far more coal than we import, and when there is no longer an overseas market, those same families are going to be left holding the bag. Trump will be long gone out of office when the real trouble hits. The effects could devastate communities and once hard working Americans for generations to come.
We have no bargaining chip.
So the question is, how can we move toward cleaner energy while taking care of those who power America today? How do we hold up our responsibility to the world while at the same time being compassionate to our fellow citizens? To be honest, I don’t have the answer to that, and neither does our President.
Unfortunately only one of us seems to be concerned with finding the answer.
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