May 3, 2017 2 min read

The recent article about the owners of the Hatfield’s Ferry Power Station contemplating reopening it using natural gas is a sign of the times when it comes to the future of coal mining in our region.

During the 2016 campaign, President Trump promised to bring back coal mining jobs, much to the delight and relief of those in attendance at his rallies. However, it is abundantly clear that coal is its own worst enemy, and has been for decades.

Mining coal was and is dangerous and unhealthy work. John L. Lewis, the president of the United Mine Workers of America from 1920 to 1960, once described coal miners as “those who labor in the bowels of the earth.” Its environmental hazards are well documented. Coal emissions and coal waste have been of serious concern for decades.

What underscores the fact that coal has seen better days and is being supplanted by alternatives is the reality that the operators of power stations are abandoning coal and embracing natural gas. It is purely an economic decision. No other industry needs vast amounts of coal as the energy industry once did. The coal market is quickly dying. Hanging your hopes on ill-advised and ill-informed rhetoric is a form of self-deception.

There was a time when coal was the most viable source of fuel for industry and transportation. Factories, power stations, railroads, steamships and homeowners used it in great amounts. Sadly, technology changes, and many hard-working people are left behind in the wake of progress.

At the turn of the 20th century, when motorized vehicles were coming on line, many harness makers were displaced as horsepower went from being in front of the wagon to under the hood of the automobile. The hard facts in this matter must be understood, no matter how painful they may be for mining families and communities.

Ronald J. Yamka

Canonsburg

Yamka is a retired UMWA miner with 17 years experience in strip mining.