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The Builder from Queens

President Trump, a builder from Queens, N.Y., announced his ambition to rebuild the country. “America is a nation of builders,” he reminded Congress last night, a fact largely forgotten among pundits who write and think but seldom build anything. Coal mining is all about building. The three great industrial revolutions – first England’s, then America’s […]

Infrastructure Package Could Mean a Win-Win for a Divided Nation

Via The Washington Examiner: These are certainly turbulent times in Washington. But just as partisan division appears to block progress, a new political consensus could emerge on a key initiative—and one that could provide the equivalent of long-term healthcare for the economy. In President Trump’s State of the Union address tonight, we’re likely to hear him […]

More Electric Cars Mean More Coal And Natural Gas

Via Forbes: Electric cars are a rapidly growing market. In 2017, sales in the U.S. were up nearly 30%, to about 200,000 units. This surge is even more impressive given that the very low gasoline prices we have seen obviously incentivize sticking with the traditional oil-based, internal-combustion-engine purchase. There are now numerous initiatives globally to ban the sale of […]

EPA Frees Arkansas from Obama-era Coal Restrictions

Via The Washington Examiner: The Environmental Protection Agency announced Monday that it has scrapped limits on coal burning that the Obama administration imposed on Arkansas, which were expected to force power plants in that state to invest in costly upgrades or shut down, and instead said Arkansas was free to pursue its own plan to cut […]

Interior’s Regulatory Relief is Paying Dividends for Colorado

Via The Daily Sentinel:  Growing up near Rifle, Colorado, I learned the importance of energy and mineral development on federal lands near rural communities from a young age. In towns like Rifle, when mines are needlessly shuttered, the rest of the local economy suffers. During his campaign, President Donald Trump promised that the forgotten men and […]

Column: Coal Still a Necessary Resource

Via The Detroit News: Recent severe weather events have brought attention to the need for a dependable supply of electricity. Lack of power for hospitals, homes, schools, and businesses creates major difficulties. Ask anyone who lives in Puerto Rico what it is like to be without power. The United States is in the midst of a […]

The Difference After Year One

Via The Charleston Gazette-Mail: After year one of the Trump administration, we can say this about the president’s record so far: Despite accusations of favoritism, he has been as generous to the news industry as he has been to corporations. Especially for scribes in the Washington, D.C., Thunder Dome, President Donald Trump and his administration have […]

Still Fighting

Via The Bluefield Daily Telegraph: West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey believes the authority to manage energy resources should come from the individual states, and not the federal government. That’s why he has actively fought for the elimination of the controversial Obama-era Clean Power Plan. Morrisey, working with a coalition of 26 states, is now seeking […]

Behind Coal’s Comeback

“The headwinds we faced in recent years have now filled our sails.” That was Hal Quinn’s succinct description of the change in coal’s prospects last year. At USEA’s Annual Energy Forum last week, NMA’s CEO spelled out the winds of change that today are not only favorable but, equally importantly, have reversed. Start with government’s […]

Tax Cuts and Coal’s Rebound Warm Winter’s Chill

Via The Tribune-Democrat: After a rocky start, Congress and the president saved their best for last in 2017.  The historic tax cut that closed out the Trump administration’s first year defied a conventional wisdom that as recently as last summer gave Congress no chance to pass a major tax bill. A fractious Republican party, a […]