There’s no going back to coal
Scott Pruitt, recently named director of the Environmental Protection Agency, came to the Harvey Mine in Sycamore recently to praise himself and President Trump on the subject of coal-mining jobs.
What he didn’t say is that, no matter what, these jobs won’t last long, and won’t be replaced.
Out of curiosity, I looked at listings for deep-mining jobs, and found 438 currently listed. There are, in contrast, 5,239 listed by the same source in “renewable energy.” Jobs in that field pay about $1,000 more per year, on average, than the deep-mining jobs, and they’re above ground.
The energy market is changing. Between fracking for natural gas and the alternative energy markets, we will never go back to coal, no matter what the EPA does or doesn’t do.
Between renewable energy and natural gas acting as a bridge fuel, coal is now the “horse-and-buggy” of the energy picture. It’s not regulation that is dooming it, it’s reality.
Carole McIntyre
Waynesburg