AAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

It seems all the coal industry has left is scare tactics:

“We’re scared. We’re scared for the future of the state. We’re scared for the future of the industry, and we’re mostly scared for the future of our people,” said Bill Raney, President of the West Virginia Coal Association. “They want to stay here and they want to do what they do best and that’s mine coal.” . . . “This recession isn’t going to last forever. Coal demand picks up, electricity demand picks up, we’re going to be left flat with no place to go, no place to mine because we don’t have permits because somebody traded their jobs for mayflies,” Kitts said to the crowd.

Hey, guys…

WV coal-mining employment 1880-2008

Appalachian Poverty and MTR

I’d also recommend you read the recent Hendryx study from WVU, about how coal-mining’s losses outweigh it’s benefits by $42 billion every year, including 100s-1000s of early deaths in Appalachia.

About JW Randolph

Raised on the banks of the Tennessee River, JW's work to create progress in his home state and throughout Appalachia has been featured on the Rachel Maddow Show, The Daily Kos and Grist. He served first as Appalachian Voices’ Legislative Associate and then Tennessee director until leaving to pursue a career in medicine in 2012.