Trump's Obsession With Coal

[Thebobo]

U.S. coal exports soar, in boost to Trump energy agenda, data shows:
who is buying much of this coal??? the UK and France (Paris climate accord countries)
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-coal-exports-idUSKBN1AD0DU

We should NOT be tearing down mountains and killing our rivers and streams purely for profit.

 

[Engineer]

1 Charleston 50,404 51,400 −1.94% Kanawha
2 Huntington 48,807 49,138 −0.67% Cabell,



Love me some west by-god virginia, The good parts, Spruce knob, Dolly Sods, Otter creek Cranberry wilderness. WVA is what it is because of the collapse of the one horse industry, coal. And very dirty coal. The state and local politicians did nothing to help the residents in the transition away from coal.

They took control and did the transition themselves....

http://www.wvgazettemail.com/news-c...-town-strikes-back-against-drug-distributors-

I grew up 12 miles from Kermit, WV. Grew up working around a coal mine. One of the best decisions of my life to pull myself out of that area....and to stay out of it. Hated everything coal. 100% pure nasty.

 

[conehead433]

Trump and coal reminds me of the movie "Other People's Money" starring Danny Devito. I think he was known as Larry the Liquidator in the movie. He bought companies and split them up , selling off all the parts for more than the company was worth. He gave a speech about a company that made buggy whips, and they were the greatest buggy whips ever made. Of course the company went out of business because buggy whips were not really needed anymore. Trump fails to recognize that coal is no longer needed, and is a major pollutant. So why not use coal to make carbon fiber products, or other similar products. His support of the coal industry is just stupid, but gee, what else would expect from Trump.

 

[Puffnstuff]

Trumpelstiltskin's obsession with coal is akin to his obsessions with other things like other men's wives.

 

[ch33zw1z]

It's just a means to an end.

If for whatever reason, he thought he could be Democrat and win, he'd be doing that instead. My point is that he's loyal to himself only, and really doesn't give a shit about america, this is just another TV show to him.

 

[Ventanni]

I wish this industry would die. My sister recently married into a coal miner family, so in turn I was introduced to it as well. Never before have I seen such a depressed, ecologically and environmentally devastated area in my life. Coal mining companies literally go in and chop off the tops of mountains, then dig down and mine out all the coal. When they're done, they go back and replant the mountains with the cheapest foliage possible; pine trees. You can't help but notice that the mountains that were mined of coal stick out like a sore thumb. Imagine if consumers rented a souped up Dodge Challenger from Enterprise and returned a Chevy Spark? It would be criminal, and people would be charged, but these coal companies do it all the time.

During the Obama presidency, Obama incentivized a lot of the coal power companies to switch over to burning natural gas, and they did. Now that Trump is in, the market for coal in the US is much smaller than it used to be. Power companies aren't going to retool back to burning coal, as natural gas is easier to work with. So even if this industry was fully restarted, it's not what it used to be. And good riddance for that.

 

[ch33zw1z]

Why you hate capitalism so much? /s

 

[Puffnstuff]

Coal mining companies literally go in and chop off the tops of mountains, then dig down and mine out all the coal. When they're done, they go back and replant the mountains with the cheapest foliage possible; pine trees.

That's what they did in WV near my late grandparents house. Completely strip mined the mountain down to a flat plateau permanently altering the geography. In the south salt mining is just as sinister except they bore under lakes and rivers until the mines breach and flood out bringing the contents of whatever body of water resided above them down into the chasm.

 

[Thebobo]

I wish this industry would die. My sister recently married into a coal miner family, so in turn I was introduced to it as well. Never before have I seen such a depressed, ecologically and environmentally devastated area in my life. Coal mining companies literally go in and chop off the tops of mountains, then dig down and mine out all the coal. When they're done, they go back and replant the mountains with the cheapest foliage possible; pine trees. You can't help but notice that the mountains that were mined of coal stick out like a sore thumb. Imagine if consumers rented a souped up Dodge Challenger from Enterprise and returned a Chevy Spark? It would be criminal, and people would be charged, but these coal companies do it all the time.

During the Obama presidency, Obama incentivized a lot of the coal power companies to switch over to burning natural gas, and they did. Now that Trump is in, the market for coal in the US is much smaller than it used to be. Power companies aren't going to retool back to burning coal, as natural gas is easier to work with. So even if this industry was fully restarted, it's not what it used to be. And good riddance for that.

And now our mountain tops are being removed and being sold to other countries.

 

[Puffnstuff]

And now our mountain tops are being removed and being sold to other countries.

As coal plays out lest we forget that tar sands strip mining is the current in thing which does even more damage to the environment.

 

[sdifox]

As coal plays out lest we forget that tar sands strip mining is the current in thing which does even more damage to the environment.

Fracking has higher contamination potential. Not to mention earthquakes.

 

[PottedMeat]

In the south salt mining is just as sinister except they bore under lakes and rivers until the mines breach and flood out bringing the contents of whatever body of water resided above them down into the chasm.

Probably the most famous one:
Lake Peigneur Drilling Accident

 

[zinfamous]

So we learned last night that Trump likes coal because you can take it out and clean it. Can't do that with the sun!

 

[sdifox]

So we learned last night that Trump likes coal because you can take it out and clean it. Can't do that with the sun!

I wonder how much coal lobby lined his pocket.

 

[zinfamous]

Probably the most famous one:
Lake Peigneur Drilling Accident

Drill Baby, Drill!

 

[1prophet]

Eh, I don't live in rural areas, and comparing the number of jobs coal produces in the entire state isn't relevant facts. The question is simply are these coal jobs required to sustain livable rural areas or not - And I don't know the answer to that question.

A town can't survive off of just Walmart and McDonald jobs - so there has to be something to fill that void. If there isn't manufacturing or anything else similar, what else is there?

West Virginia cannot seem to get any love lately. In addition to being called the dumbest state in America, another recent study from George Washington University claims that WV also happens to be the biggest welfare state.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Sad was watching some news stories with interviews with coal miners dying from the effects of working in the coal mines and how Obamacare saved their lives. But they still support Trump even if they lose their health care and die.

 

[Puffnstuff]

Sad was watching some news stories with interviews with coal miners dying from the effects of working in the coal mines and how Obamacare saved their lives. But they still support Trump even if they lose their health care and die.

My grandfather died of mining related illnesses the fairly young age of 56. For many of them they aren't able to get a higher education and their regional situations are such that they are trapped where they are. Without mining jobs they would never be able to rise above poverty levels and they know it as do the mining companies that exploit their situations for profit. In essence they are in a state of learned helplessness that mining operators are using to their advantage.

 

[zinfamous]

Sad was watching some news stories with interviews with coal miners dying from the effects of working in the coal mines and how Obamacare saved their lives. But they still support Trump even if they lose their health care and die.

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes?

 

[Engineer]

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/08/25/lewandowski-trump-coal-lobbying-242052

The companies wanted Trump to prevent utilities from closing economically ailing coal-fired power plants, using authorities normally designed to protect the U.S. electricity supply during emergencies. And as they made their case, they got support from the former Trump aide, who has remained in the president's orbit despite being fired from his campaign more than a year ago.

Uh...wow.

 

[pmv]

Setting aside the issue of climate change - because too much heat is apparently a concern exclusively of elitist, out of touch liberals - how is propping up an industry which is being phased out by the market consistent with the philosophy of American free market conservatism? Aren't we supposed to let failing industries die?

I guess it's a continuation of the peculiar irony that it was Thatcher who first kicked off serious funding into climate-change science - because she saw it as a possible weapon against the hated miners (a historic enemy of the Tory party).

Now conservatives have decided they hate the environment so much they are willing to sacrifice their free market beliefs in order to help destroy it.

 

[brycejones]

I guess it's a continuation of the peculiar irony that it was Thatcher who first kicked off serious funding into climate-change science - because she saw it as a possible weapon against the hated miners (a historic enemy of the Tory party).

Now conservatives have decided they hate the environment so much they are willing to sacrifice their free market beliefs in order to help destroy it.

The environment must be subdued. Have you seen the vicious unprovoked attack by the environment on Houston? That shit is biblical.

 

[ch33zw1z]

The environment must be subdued. Have you seen the vicious unprovoked attack by the environment on Houston? That shit is biblical.

They just aren't praying enough, heathens.