31Aug

How to Make the Next Labor Day Better than this One

August 31, 2016 Like Christmas with no gifts, this is Labor Day with no good jobs – at least not for the near record number of jobless Americans who want them. Average hourly wages have barely budged since the recession ended four years ago. So this week count on the administration to airbrush its record […]
29Aug

N.C. Policy Makers, Regulators Attack EPA’s Clean Power Plan

Via The Charlotte Business Journal: The Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan, requiring states to achieve 30% reductions in carbon emissions, did not get much love at the Carolinas Federal and State Policy Briefing sponsored by E4 Carolinas. Congressman Richard Hudson (R-N.C.) lamented the “bias at the EPA that you can’t trust these state regulators.” N.C. […]
29Aug

Stream Rule Frustrates Wyoming Regulators

Via The Casper Star-Tribune: Officials at the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality are frustrated by a proposed federal rule that they say could cost the state more than $1 million a year in lost revenue and $500,000 in implementation. The stream protection rule, developed by the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM), would […]
26Aug

Industry Has Future, Regulations Stand in Way

Via The Southern Illinoisan:  Coal executives visiting with The Southern Illinoisan’s editorial board on Wednesday said they are confident the industry, despite the challenges facing it, will have a future in the region for decades to come. Joshua Carter, the vice president and chief operating officer for Knight Hawk Coal, noted that his company has […]
25Aug

Warnings of Rate Hikes as Oregon Becomes 1st State to Kill Coal

Via Fox News: The massive coal-fired plant in Boardman, Ore., is just four years away from being shut down for good – at that point, Oregon coal production will be no more, after the state became the first in the nation to completely ban coal power. The mandate, signed into law earlier this year, was […]
24Aug

Why Voters May Soon Be Angry Over Energy

August 24, 2016 As the campaign gets underway in earnest, an always intriguing exercise for those keeping score at home will be to hear how the candidates address pocketbook issues. These are the ones – not national security, the national debt, lousy cable TV offerings, etc. – that are upper most in the minds of […]
23Aug

Suggestions for Trump, Clinton

Via the Casper Star-Tribune: Editor:  This is an open letter to Mr. Trump and Ms. Clinton. If there’s any good news for coal these days, it’s that you both have promised relief for coal communities hit hard by market forces and the president’s regulations. Donald Trump, you say you’ll put coal miners back to work. […]
18Aug

Missouri Faces Troubling Uptick in Energy Prices Due to SPR

Via The Buffalo Reflex: We sometimes forget that Missouri has been a coal-producing state for decades. Although not a major producer like Wyoming or West Virginia, our state has mined coal, along with lead, zinc, copper and silver for more than a century. And all of this mining has not only employed thousands in family-supporting […]
17Aug

A Note to the Candidates

August 17, 2016 Dear Mr. Trump and Mrs. Clinton: If there’s any good news for coal these days, it’s that you both have promised relief for coal communities hit hard by market forces and the president’s regulations. Donald Trump, you say you’ll put coal miners back to work. Hillary Clinton, you pledged to put their […]