The link below is from the West Virginia office of Miners' Health, Safety and Training.
In the lists speaks for the facts regarding coal production. The production has increased while the employment has decreased. Coal production has basically leveled off since 1990 which was the highest production rate in West Virginia.
Production of Coal and Coke in West Virginia 1863 - 2012 (click here)
I am sure that holds true for Kentucky as well. So, if generations of coal miners can't keep their children and grandchildren in jobs don't blame the government. It is the wealthy wanting more wealth that destroyed coal jobs.
The highest number of coal industry jobs was in 1949 with over 125,000. Ever since the jobs have diminished. Employees in the industry are pretty much divided 50/50 between industry employees and outside contractors; about 20,000 in each category. Forty thousand from 125,000 is a loss of about 68% of jobs from the coal industry over a period of time sixty-five years. It is all natural attrition because of the mechanization of the industry.
The people of West Virginia and Kentucky need someone to find new jobs for this generation going forward because the coal industry is basically unavailable to them for employment. Converting these states to alternative energy sources would provide more jobs in the energy sector, but, there has to be more than just alternative energy jobs to grow the jobs in these states. There has to be a vision of future to transition the people of West Virginia and Kentucky into a sustainable economy that would abandon good paying jobs to mechanization.
This may sound insensitive, but, I understand the value of a good paying job with benefits. If the USA is to bring down it's greenhouse gas emissions now is the time to do it. Coal doesn't really serve the economy of any state or the country, except, it's GDP. But, as for jobs, the industry is closed to that. The Coal Industry now causes more unemployment than employment. Why train for a job that will disappear?
When I state the other day about Kuwait investing in alternative energy companies in the USA, I meant it. Alternatives are the future and employment in the country will be enhanced by it's build up.
It is over for coal, everywhere. China recently stated they are not interested in coal for it's economy. Why would they want coal? It chokes the people of cities, causes all kinds of pollution and increases China's greenhouse gas emissions. The Chinese people and their government want their monies spent on infrastructure to be good investments. They don't want to admit they made huge investments in an energy source that poorly serves the country. China has many wealthy members of it's country that want to spend their monies wisely and coal is not among those on the list for their investment. This is not all about the control by the Chinese government, China is moving into a modern day strategy that has global status.
July 9, 2014
...China (click here) -- which consumes almost as much coal as the rest of the world combined -- is accelerating a planned switch to cleaner fuels, including a possible cap on carbon emissions and limits on new coal-fired plants.
Even if such changes don’t occur as fast as environmentalists might hope, Chinese President Xi Jinping plans to scrap the economic strategy that spawned coal-eating steel plants in every province. Mounting anti-coal sentiment in China and the U.S. imperils the ambitions of companies like Peabody Energy Corp. (BTU) andArch Coal Inc. (ACI) in the world’s fastest-growing region....
What are the demonstrations in Hong Kong all about? Food? Water? Heck no, it is representation of the people in their government. That is a sophisticated society, folks.
"Occupy Wall Street" was never like this. It is impressive.
