Coal Country Fights Back

In EPA’s Grip, Coal Industry Is Headed To Washington

” Besieged by the Obama administration and its host of new environmental regulations, the U.S. coal industry is beginning to fight back.”

 

 

” Thousands of miners and their families will descend on Washington on Tuesday for the “Count on Coal” rally, bringing with them a simple message for the Environmental Protection Agency and other arms of the federal government that seem intent on relegating the fuel to the ash pile of history.

“The message is that there’s a lot of people out there in states that not only mine coal, but rely heavily on coal. There’s a lot of frustration building up at people here in Washington that they aren’t really listening and looking out for them,” said Hal Quinn, president of the National Mining Association, one of the rally’s prime organizers. “It’s a way of life. [Coal miners] are very proud of what they do for this country.” ”

 

 

This post gives more detail regarding  the closing of power generating facilities and mines under the new Obama EPA regulatory scheme . The list is extensive and growing at an alarming rate :

 

” Coal-fired power plants and coal mines are going down across the U.S., according to SNL Financial analyses.

Facing tougher federal health-based standards for mercury emissions in 2015, utility companies have been steadily shuttering coal-fired units, with 8,800 megawatts permanently closed in 2012 and another 5,781 megawatts projected to be closed this year.”

 

 

 

We were warned . This is one instance where Obama told the truth.

 

 

 

” Production data from the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration shows that mines idled in the first half of 2013 produced a combined 11.4 million tons of coal in 2012.”

 

 

   It’s only going to get worse , and as energy prices rise so does the cost of EVERYTHING else . It takes energy to produce goods and it takes energy to deliver goods . 

 

 

 

 

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A Blue State’s Road To Red

A Frustrated And Angry West Virginia Has Been Cutting Ties With Its Reliably Democratic Roots

 

 

 

 

 

” Ordinary West Virginians used to look to Washington with something close to reverence. It was a partner in good times, a lifeline in bad ones, a powerful ally against the big corporations that came for its coal and timber. By some measures, West Virginia relies more on federal money than any other state.

But increasingly, it also has become an extreme example of the hostility that shows up in every national poll when people are asked how they feel about the federal government. Many here now speak of Washington as an enemy that threatens their economy and their way of life, that traps them into dependency.

“Washington’s 100 percent against us,” said M.E. Walker, a retired road builder who lives in Pence Springs in Summers County. “They don’t like our jobs. They don’t like our attitudes.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Unmistakable Signs Of A Happy Result For The Republican Candidate

Romney Will Win Pennsylvania

 

 

 

 

 

  “REAL Unemployment is 15 percent. FIRE OBAMA.”

 

   So says a giant billboard along the Pennsylvania Turnpike heading north from Breezewood through Somerset.

 

   As I drive a few miles more, there’s another billboard, this one with a guy with a gasoline nozzle in his ear. It declares, “Vote Change, Vote No-Obama.”

As I continue upward through this natural gas and coal country, I see more and more signs, erected in farmer’s fields, taped to cars. I pass a minivan with writing on the back windshield: “$4.00 per gallon gasoline? Are you kidding me?!”

As I go further through Western Pennsylvania, into the small towns north of Pittsburgh, I see Romney/Ryan signs absolutely everywhere, dwarfing the number of Obama/Biden signs — and far exceeding the depressing ratio of McCain vs. Obama signs four years ago. I even see Romney/Ryan signs placed next to empty chairs, evoking the Clint Eastwood image of our president. And where I don’t see a Romney/Ryan sign, I observe a “Preserve Freedom: Fire Obama” placard, or another that says “Are You Better Off Now Than Four Years Ago?” “

War on Coal – Battleground Ohio