A Bleak Outlook for Trump’s Promises to Coal Miners

[K1052]

Clean coal is just a decade away, and always will be.

Kemper is over $7B for 580 megawatts and they haven't even managed to turn it on yet lol.

Clean coal makes new fission reactors look like the deal of the century.

 

[Pens1566]

Any reference to "clean coal" or "War on coal", just laugh and turn around. There is no discussion to be had there.

 

[trenchfoot]

The writing is on the wall on a lot of his promises. And many more promises he's walking back on. But at the same time any concern is ridiculed. "He's not even president yet!". I fear that instead of being objective that conservatives are going to be explaining away almost everything Trump does no matter how nonsensical. Even when there is legitimate concern to be made, half the country will not believe it as any reporting from the so called liberal mainstream media on it will seem to them like they're just out to get him.

It seems to me these folks think its more like the media is not so much out to get Trump but out get them, the half of the country that voted for him. They're taking it personal. Through Trump's fabulous foibles and apparent intent to create a hard line neocon inspired form of government, those supporters that voted for him for other reasons must feel the pinch, the fear that what they got wasn't what they bought, but won't accept the fact and admit to themselves that they were wrong and are willing to silently suffer the consequences of their actions until they can get a refund four years from now.

Nobody likes to admit they were wrong or got suckered, but I hope they're more than willing to voice their objection to those parts of Trump's agenda that they disagree with. The folks that voted for Trump carry with them the burden, the responsibility to keep Trump from straying off the path that he promised them he would take, or that they, on an as needed basis, persuade him to keep the nation's concerns ahead of his own. Particularly so are his concerns that he never revealed to his constituents, like the infamous con job Gov. Scott Walker successfully scammed a large segment of voters with in order to destroy the public unions, of which I suspect many of whom actually voted for him out of loyalty to their boss.

 

[Jhhnn]

Maybe she should have spoken of that instead of calling them deplorable.
When there's a signaling and messaging problem in politics, you going to blame the sender or receiver?

She did, many times. It's more of a signal to noise issue this election & the noise sources have been obvious for some while.

Conflict is attention. Attention is influence. Hillary's pitch didn't pit people against each other nearly so well as Donald's. He weaponized insincerity in a masterful way.

You don't think he or Pence actually believe a word of it, do you? I hope not.

 

[theeedude]

Now it's time for Trump supporters to eat what they ordered. No refunds.

 

[ivwshane]

Maybe she should have spoken of that instead of calling them deplorable.
When there's a signaling and messaging problem in politics, you going to blame the sender or receiver?

She did speak of it you ignorant twatwaffle! In fact she spoke of it at least twice in front a national audience, once at a debate and once when she had a meeting with coal workers.

Fucken bubble dwellers.

 

[HomerJS]

remove solar credits / subsidies

heavily regulate & tax natural gas

create coal credits / subsidies

promote Trump Clean Coal as an energy source

done

Build giant fans on the southern border to suck out all the additional air pollution to Mexico.

 

[kage69]

I feel like a few months from now a huge chunk of W. Virginia's population will happen upon the details of what Hillary wanted to do for them and there shall be much wailing and gnashing of where teeth used to be.

 

[KMFJD]

Make gasoline from the coal?

 

[kage69]

Make gasoline from the coal?

That's what Transgas is doing in WV isn't it?

No such thing as clean coal though. In this case, the intended application helps magnify our current C02 problem while at the same time trying to undercut renewable green(er) sources of power.

 

[Darwin333]

Well he could potentially push for and incentivize coal to liquid gas conversion.

 

[agent00f]

IMO, it's a matter of tradition, bolstered and perpetuated by geological and self-induced isolation, both factors of which supports and sustains the other.

It seems to me that a lot of folks there, as well as in many other rural isolated areas of the nation, like things just the way they are because it gives them stability and a sense that their futures are predictable and in their control. As far as I'm concerned, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that as we all like to feel safe and secure, socially and economically. The difference again, is isolationism. It promotes statism/micro statism. In contrast, we have those big population centers with diverse communities where constant exposure to different cultures creates an atmosphere of constant change as the assimilation and adaptive processes are in constant motion. Therefore, change, to a certain extent, is much more palatable and easier to embrace. Maps showing voting trends clearly support this.

As we all know, the Repubs are masters at exploiting these fears of change and loss of control, and with Trump fanning the flames of fear and hate with a yuuuge flame thrower all during his election campaign, well, it was easy for him to provide the salve (in the form of a highly concentrated dose of snake oil placebo) for the very fears he was histrionically frightening his hypnotized audiences with.

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Increasingly so, that salve is turning sour and has already exposed much of what was empty promises in the form of bait to lure his willfully ignorant catch in with. The apologists are out in force and attempting to forestall/snuff out these small outbreaks of fact checking and alarm bell ringing in order to prevent these small ripples turning into an unstoppable tsunami of proof driven allegations that will sink Trump's apparent emerging efforts to militarize the population just like Bush and Cheney did.

I'm still being hopeful that Trump proves me wrong, but the trend line he's on is making me feel I'm right.

Totally agree with the first half but seems to me many of them have always known the finer details were always just a lie, and that the whole point was to get their guy in to hopefully ramp up welfare to themselves.

 

[K1052]

Well he could potentially push for and incentivize coal to liquid gas conversion.

IGCC is barely feasible let alone cost effective. At current natural gas prices it's downright suicidal.

 

[Londo_Jowo]

Well he could potentially push for and incentivize coal to liquid gas conversion.

Coal degasification to syngas to ammonia is being done is some locations in the northwest.

 

[theeedude]

Not going to be many jobs in coal mining.
Mountaintop removal is not labor intensive, and will be even less so with self driving.

So most likely no jobs for the miners, but they will lose Medicaid for their black lungs. Good luck.