‘King Coal’ takes it on the chin in federal report

The government-issued scientific report that was released on Black Friday includes a stinging condemnation of “King Coal” as one of the prime villains in the growing concern about climate change.

The Trump White House now finds itself between a piece of coal and a hard place, especially since President Donald Trump has frequently dismissed climate change research in favor of his own views that the conclusions are not as cut-and-dried as the research would have us believe.

The White House issued a weekend statement saying that the report was “largely based on the most extreme scenario” of global warming and promised that the next report would provide “greater balance.”

Those of us here in this part of Pennsylvania know what an important role anthracite coal has played in the development of a number of communities in Carbon and Schuylkill counties.

Many know the story of how a German immigrant, Phillip Ginder (sometimes spelled “Ginter”), discovered anthracite coal in 1791 while hunting near what is present-day Summit Hill. With the help of wealthy landowner Jacob Weiss, Ginder and his associates founded the Lehigh Coal Mine Company.

Part of the romantic legend of the local coal industry was the creation of the Switchback Railroad, which transported coal from Summit Hill to Mauch Chunk (present-day Jim Thorpe) for shipment down the Lehigh River to urban centers, especially Philadelphia. Of course, for those who worked in the collieries in Carbon and Schuylkill counties, the backbreaking and dangerous job was anything but romantic.

The use of coal, primarily by large industries, including coal-fired utility plants, has come under blistering attack in the past generation, especially whenever climate change issues are debated.

Most observers saw “King Coal” on the ropes, on an irreversible decline, until Trump was elected president in 2016. Trump campaigned in coal-producing states, such as Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Kentucky, promising to resurrect “beautiful, clean coal” and along with it the livelihood of those who mine it and worked in the industry and those who would like to return to these jobs.

The strategy was effective. Since his election, Trump has renewed his promise to fight for the coal industry. By doing so, he has placed himself squarely in the center of a political battle that pits those who see coal as one of the prime producers of excessive carbon emissions against those who question the conclusions of multiple climate change studies and investigations.

This 1,656-page National Climate Assessment is mandated by Congress and is the most comprehensive study to date. It details the impact of global warming on our economy, health and safety, coastlines and infrastructure. If nothing is done, the report says, thousands of lives will be lost from cataclysmic weather events such as floods, wildfires and tornadoes, and hundreds of billions of dollars in economic damages will be inevitable in the coming decades.

The president has mocked the reports that humans and our practices are prime sources of climate change. He continues to work aggressively on behalf of the burning of coal, which leads to greenhouse gas pollution.

Former President Barack Obama’s administration put into place strict emission controls, which Trump and the Environmental Protection Agency have been systematically undoing since he began his presidency.

He has taken direct aim at the rule that restricts greenhouse emissions from motor vehicles and another that would limit these emissions from power plants.

When Trump held a campaign-style rally in Harrisburg last year, he said that the administration had created 27,000 new mining jobs during his first 100 days in office, “with more to come.”

When Trump’s assertion was fact-checked, however, it was learned that most of the jobs, according to the Department of Labor, involved support services for all kinds of mining, not just coal-mining. Not only that, but the number goes back to October 2016, before Trump took over as president.

Although a growing number of experts have been predicting the death of the American coal industry, it may be down, but it is not out, at least not yet. According to Investor’s Business Daily, coal production was up about 45 million tons in 2016, largely because of foreign demand. The largest increase in production was not here in the East; it was in the Powder River Basin bituminous region of Montana and Wyoming.

Despite this uptick, the numbers are undeniable and, most industry observers believe, irreversible. More than 250 coal-fired plants have been shut down since 2010. Another batch is scheduled for retirement in 2019. For the first time, more electricity is generated from natural gas than from coal.

Utilities have been reluctant to build new coal-fired power plants because of air-quality issues. They want assurances that even if the Trump administration rolls back regulations that they will not be reinstated by a future president in the next decade.

Coal production has dropped from 1.2 billion short tons in 2008 to 773 million tons in 2017. The industry has about 52,000 workers, down from about 88,000 in 2008.

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com