15Feb

A Rollback, or a Reset?

February 15, 2017 This week the Senate will send a belated Valentine to blue-collar Americans. It’s likely the upper house will confirm either Mr. Zinke as Secretary of the Interior or Mr. Pruitt as the new EPA administrator before adjourning for President’s Day. Both men will be greeted warmly by the many whose jobs are […]
15Feb

Trump Should End Obama Coal Lease Moratorium

Via LifeZette: President Donald Trump has certainly jumped out of the starting gate by issuing a flurry of executive orders taking aim at onerous regulations held over from the Obama administration. It’s a mixed bag, however, given the variety of issues confronting the economy. There is one step that the new administration could take immediately to ensure […]
10Feb

Reviving W.Va. Coal Mines

Via The Wheeling News-Register: Last November’s election of Donald Trump as president and a new class of leaders on the state-level represents a defining moment for our great state and for the West Virginia coal industry. This new leadership recognizes our natural resources as valuable assets, and they have pledged to aggressively advance policies designed […]
10Feb

Stream Rule Provided No Discernible Environmental Benefits

Via The St. Louis Post-Dispatch:  The editorial “Coal 1, Water 0″ (Feb. 7) shows either a complete lack of understanding of the Interior Department’s stream rule or a deliberate attempt to mislead readers. Far from protecting streams, those who have taken the time to examine what the rule actually does know that it provides no […]
10Feb

Lifting the Moratorium on Federal Coal Use

February 9, 2017 What a week for improbable, heroic, logic-defying efforts. First the astonishing comeback by the Patriots, persuading the most hardened doubters of their greatness after overcoming a late 25-point deficit. Then the equally daunting challenge faced by those GOP wise men who sought to persuade us that a carbon tax isn’t really an […]
09Feb

Sean Spicer: Coal Will Be One of the Cleanest Uses of Technology that We Have

Via The Independent: White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said that the US would produce “clean coal” and that rolling back regulations from coal plants would be done in a way that was “environmentally friendly”. He told reporters that the Environmental Protection Agency, which will be led by Oklahoma attorney general Scott Pruitt who once sued the […]
09Feb

Another Wave Of Coal Plant Closures Is On The Way, But Can Trump Stop It?

Via The Daily Caller: President Trump has a lot of work ahead of him if he’s going to turn the coal industry around, since experts predict another 12 gigawatts of factory retirements are expected in the coming years. Trump promised to roll back Obama-era environmental regulations hampering energy production, including those targeting coal mining. But […]
08Feb

Gov’t Data Says Coal Is Staging A Comeback

Via The Daily Caller: Coal power could see a revival in the near future, according to a report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). U.S. coal production fell by 18 percent in 2016 compared to the previous year, but changing market conditions suggest a comeback is one the way, according to the EIA report. […]
08Feb

This Time, ‘Elections Have Consequences’ for the Sierra Club

Via The Hill: In the next week or so, the Sierra Club will twice be reminded of former President Obama’s boast that “elections have consequences.” The Senate will likely confirm Scott Pruitt’s nomination for EPA administrator following the Environment and Public Works Committee’s recent vote. Further, President Trump is expected to sign the resolution of […]
07Feb

Guest Opinion: Daines Votes to Protect Montana Coal Jobs

Via The Billings Gazette: What a great day it will be when Montana is represented in the Interior Department by Rep. Ryan Zinke. Secretary-nominee Zinke knows well the issues important to the West and Indian Country, and I hope for better days ahead for all rural and Native peoples under his leadership at the Interior […]