5 graphs explain coal in Trump’s first year

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The Trump administration claims an uptick in coal production shows its anti-regulatory agenda is working —
ignoring the fact 2017 was an outlier and coal’s long-term trend is downward. Meanwhile, coal communities across the country need better policies now to help diversify their local economies.

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A Finite Frontier: Facing the Future of Central Appalachian Coal

By Brian Sewell On Sept.18, Appalachian coal mining giant Alpha Natural Resources announced it would idle eight mines and lay off 400 employees in the first phase of a “strategic repositioning” plan designed to meet the evolving demands of a changing global coal market. According to Alpha, the plan aims to enhance the company’s position…

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By The Numbers

78%: Voters nationwide who support the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s work to hold polluters accountable. 170: Votes against environmental protection in the House of Representatives since the beginning of 2011 1,048.3 million: Number of short tons of coal the U.S. consumed in 2010, the second-lowest consumption rate in a decade. 1995: The last time coal…

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Appalachian Coal Mining Jobs Reach 14-year High

Increase Comes Despite Arguments that Regulations Kill Jobs Some congressional representatives claim that federal oversight of mountaintop removal mining in Appalachia threatens domestic coal production and the regions coal mining jobs, but new government data indicates the opposite is true. Data released by the Mine Safety and Health Administration show that the number of jobs…

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