 I told you the the winds of change were blowing in West Virginia. Another large gust has arrived: an elephant in the room is officially acknowledged. West Virginia is running out of coal.
Gretchen Mae Stone at the State Journal has the news in the article Senators Co-Sponsor Bill to Restore Clean Water Act. Rep. Nick Rahall (WV-03), West Virginia's long-time Democratic representative of the heart of the coal fields says (emphasis mine):
Rahall said the state's most productive coal seams likely will be exhausted in 20 years. And while coal will remain an important part of the economy, the state should emphasize green job development. That, he said, is especially important as pressure against mountaintop mining increases.
Rahall said the pressure is coming from both Republicans and Democrats. During the 2008 presidential race, Republican nominee John McCain came out in favor of ending mountaintop mining.
"It's something that's evolving over time in our industry and the responsible segment of our industry realizes that," he said.
Exactly. If there's only 20, at most 30, years of productive coal mining remaining in the state, how do we make sure the state's economy makes an orderly transition to what comes next? |
