War on Coal “ President Obama is responsible entirely for the closure of that mine and the loses of these jobs”, Robert Murray CEO of Murray Energy Corporation told CNN after 239 men were laid off because an Ohio mine had closed. The current war on coal is not one of just and fair reasons. Coal has several positive benefits that greatly outweigh the negative environmental effects that some say it causes. The main benefit of coal is the hundreds of thousands it employs annually. However, with the strict regulations being put on coal mines these days the tradition of coal mining may be one our children will never know.
It is ourresponsibilityas Americans to beat the Obama Administration and win the war on coal. Coal was first found in America in 1742 in what is now Boone County, West Virginia. Since then mining it has been a job that employs thousands and those thousands don’t get near the praise they deserve. Every time the man-trip goes under, the people on it risk their lives to provide us with the main source for energy and heat. The Merle Travis lyric“ Where the dangers are double and the troubles are few” completely captures the atmosphere of a coal mine.
Slag falls, explosions, fires, and above all cave –ins and roof falls are just a few of the dangers miners face every day, yet people still feel the need to condemn these men for the job they do. The Obama administration could care less about the many jobs they are doing away with from the coal industry. “ The many regulations the he (President Obama), and his radical appointees and the U. S. EPA haves put on the use of coal have closed 175 power plants” (Murray 2). Assume those 175 power plants employed 100 men that is 17, 500 people who are out of work.
How can Obama say he is for the working class when he is taking the working class’s jobs? Josh Mandel, Ohio state treasurer told Congress “ I think the Obama administration should be ashamed for putting middle class coal miners out of work across the country. Coal miners and their families live in some of the poorest areas of the country and the Obama war on coal is killing jobs in the parts of America that can least afford it. ”. Mandel is right. Obama and his administration are killing jobs and small mining towns all across the country and it must be stopped before they are gone.
While running in his 2008 campaign, Obama told the San Francisco Chronicle that the “ notion of no coal…is an illusion”, but he added that he favored the Cap and Trade system. He then went on to say “ so if someone wants to build a coal powered plant, it’s just that it will bankrupt them because they are going to be charged a huge sum for all the greenhouse gas that is being emitted”(Trinko 3) This statement sounds like someone who wasn’t in the slightest bit worried about the 385, 105 miners who were directly employed by coal at the time. Trinko 2) this number didn’t include truck drivers, mine inspectors, power plant workers, railroad workers, or and other jobs that are affected by the coal industry. The Obama Administration has done everything it can possibly do to destroy the American coal industry. We have gone from producing 1. 2 billion tons of coal a year to producing somewhere in the neighborhood of 800 million tons (Trinko 3). It is disingenuous at best for Obama to say he supports the coal industry when we have lost about one third of our production.
Joe Biden told gist. com that he didn’t see much of a role for clean energy in America, but then added that he wanted to help China clean their coal plants (Trinko 3). For the past 4 years, Obama and his administration have tried to end coal in America and it is time we take it back. Ryan Williams, Mitt Romany’s spokesman said “ Obama has waged a war on coal that has devastated the middle class and American Workers” This is completely true. No, coal is not the way of life in Washington, D.
C, but if the Obama Administration would look at the big picture, they would see that in America as a whole country, coal is a way of life in many states. Some of these states are Colorado, Wyoming, and every state in Appalachia. As election time draws near, the Romney Campaign is looking for ways to appeal to the coal miners, coal truck drivers, railroad workers, and others affected by the coal industry. “ it is a narrow group of voters you’re looking at, but in those areas it is a big deal because it affects entire communities.
It really is their whole livelihood. People who work in the coal industry and theirfamilyand friends will become single-issue voters this year”, says Kristen Kukowski, secretary for the Republican National Committee. She is right. The coal industry is a livelihood, and had been bringing people together for centuries. Coal towns stick together, so if Romney gets in good with one small coal town, other towns are sure to follow. His approach to attract miners has had a positive effect and will continue to do so as long as Obama pushes his strict regulations.
Jason Hayes, communications director for the American Coal Council says “ the industry over the past few decades had invested over $100 billion in cleaning up emissions and it’s already been effective. All of the important noxious pollutants have decreased markedly over the last 30 to 40 years. We’ve been doing all of this on top of dealing with everything else. ” Coal may not be green, but it is a source of energy American needs. It is cheap and efficient. Without coal, America wouldn’t be anywhere near where it is today. The coal mined here isn’t just used for energy.
America’s coal makes steel. Steel is used for thousands of things. If coal is gone, not only will our electric and heat bills increase, but the price of steel with be outrageous. “ The environmental benefits that we’re hearing about are questionable, but the job losses are real and they are happening to thousands right now” Hayes adds. It is up to us to change the way things in America are going. This is our country, Not Washington’s. So in the 2012 Presidential Election, vote for the working class, vote for coal, vote for Romney! You could be the one vote it takes to make coal win.
