Blog

22Nov

Thanksgiving – for a New Start from a New Government

November 22, 2016 Tens of thousands of people connected to the coal mining industry suddenly have something to be thankful for on Thanksgiving.  It isn’t only miners that are facing a brighter holiday season. It’s the many others whose livelihoods depend on coal miners to keep the proverbial turkey on the table. Some work in […]
17Nov

What Wasn’t Surprising

November 17, 2016: We too were surprised by the election outcome. President-elect Trump’s shocker may have been more unexpected than Bob Dylan’s Nobel Prize win. What didn’t surprise us, however, was the revolt of the working class, the blue-collar vote that massively went to Trump and ultimately proved decisive.  We weren’t surprised because many of […]
09Nov

A New Administration and a New Congress Means a New Beginning

November 11, 2016 The U.S. mining industry looks forward to working with the Trump administration and the 115th Congress on a wide range of issues of mutual interest. Meeting the needs of the American people cannot be accomplished without a robust mining industry. And a robust mining industry is only possible with reasonable laws and […]
02Nov

Climate Goals are Global – So Is Energy Demand

November 2, 2016 Next week finally marks the long-awaited event. No, not that one.  We’re referring to the UN climate conference in Morocco Nov. 7, the day before the other event. For energy and climate policy watchers, the frequent gathering of the global green swarm – NGOs, industry reps, government officials – will hopefully shine […]
26Oct

The Reality of Regulatory Costs

October 26, 2016 In a Facebook interview last week, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy acknowledged the obvious: her support for the environmental left’s “keep it in the ground” policy (“I think we share the same goal”), that coal state economies are suffering (they’re “in trouble” she allowed) and EPA’s regulations likely contributed (they may “steepen the […]
19Oct

STEYER V PODESTA on Renewables

October 19, 2016 In the latest round of personal email leaks, energy policy jumped into the headlines with an interesting exchange between renewable energy bankroller Tom Steyer and renewable energy advocate and current Clinton campaign manager John Podesta. Last summer Steyer told The New York Times he couldn’t support any presidential candidate who refused to […]
12Oct

CAP Report on Coal Leasing Recycles Garbage

October 12, 2016 With its most recent screed against the federal coal leasing program, the Center for American Progress (CAP) continues to squander what little remains of its reputation for objective, credible policy analysis. Instead, this report recycles politically contrived conclusions based on a deeply flawed understanding of a program that in the past decade […]
03Oct

The President’s Climate Legacy Gets its Day in Court

September 28, 2016 This Tuesday, a major chunk of President Obama’s legacy will face microscopic scrutiny when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit hears legal arguments regarding the Environmental Protection Agency’s “Clean Power Plan” (CPP). The legal issues before the court are dauntingly complex, but the decisive issue before the […]
21Sep

10 Things EPA Doesn’t Want You to Know About The CPP

September 21, 2016: EPA’s website offers “Ten Things to Know About EPA’s Clean Power Plan.” In advance of the Sept. 27 oral arguments, NMA offers “Ten Things EPA Doesn’t Want You to Know” about it: 1. It’s unlawful – Sec. 111 (d) of the Clean Air Act doesn’t give EPA the authority to transform a […]
14Sep

Coal Miners – From Bill’s Day to Hillary’s

September 14, 2016 Say what you will about Bill Clinton, but the former president is without question an inveterate newsmaker. The news he makes is not always welcome, of course, and there’s the rub. On Friday, just as Hillary Clinton made halting attempts to bond with coal country, her husband blamed coal miners for deserting […]