In an recorded audio opinion piece just released by Senator Byrd, he does some truth telling about environmental concerns about coal and the rising tensions in coalfield communities with regard to mountaintop removal mining. He calls on environmentalist to recognize that coal produces half of the electricity in the demand in the U.S. and that coal will continue to be a part of our energy future. However, at the same time calls on the coal industry (and I would add coalfield politicians) to stop the divisive and dangerous rhetoric. He says there is bipartisan support in congress to end mountaintop removal mining.
If you appreciate Senator Byrd's opinion, give his office a call to say thank you.
202-224-3954
12/03/2009
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'Coal Must Embrace The Future'
U.S. Senator Robert Byrd
Washington, D.C.
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(The following text is an opinion piece U.S. Senator Robert Byrd issued on Thursday. It appears below in its entirety.) Click here if you want to list to the audio version from Senator Byrd.
For more than 100 years, coal has been the backbone of the Appalachian economy. Even today, the economies of more than 20 states depend to some degree on the mining of coal. About half of all the electricity generated in America and about one quarter of all the energy consumed globally is generated by coal.
Change is no stranger to the coal industry. Think of the huge changes which came with the onset of the Machine Age in the late 1800’s. Mechanization
has increased coal production and revenues, but also has eliminated
jobs, hurting the economies of coal communities. In 1979, there were 62,500 coal miners in the Mountain State. Today there are about 22,000. In recent years, West Virginia has seen record high coal production and record low coal employment.
And change is undeniably upon the coal industry again. The
increased use of mountaintop removal mining means that fewer miners are
needed to meet company production goals. Meanwhile the Central
Appalachian coal seams that remain to be mined are becoming thinner and
more costly to mine. Mountaintop removal mining, a declining national
demand for energy, rising mining costs and erratic spot market prices
all add up to fewer jobs in the coal fields.
These are real
problems. They affect real people. And West Virginia’s elected
officials are rightly concerned about jobs and the economic impact on
local communities. I share those concerns. But the time has come to have an open and honest dialogue about coal’s future in West Virginia.
Let’s speak the
truth. The most important factor in maintaining coal-related jobs is
demand for coal. Scapegoating and stoking fear among workers over the
permitting process is counter-productive.
Coal companies
want a large stockpile of permits in their back pockets because that
implies stability to potential investors. But when coal industry
representatives stir up public anger toward federal regulatory
agencies, it can damage the state’s ability to work with those agencies
to West Virginia’s benefit. This, in turn, may create the perception of
ineffectiveness within the industry, which can drive potential
investors away.
Let’s speak a
little more truth here. No deliberate effort to do away with the coal
industry could ever succeed in Washington because there is no available
alternative energy supply that could immediately supplant the use of
coal for base load power generation in America. That is a stubborn fact
that vexes some in the environmental community, but it is reality.
It is also a
reality that the practice of mountaintop removal mining has a
diminishing constituency in Washington. It is not a widespread method
of mining, with its use confined to only three states. Most
members of Congress, like most Americans, oppose the practice, and we
may not yet fully understand the effects of mountaintop removal mining
on the health of our citizens. West Virginians may demonstrate anger
toward the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over mountaintop
removal mining, but we risk the very probable consequence of shouting
ourselves out of any productive dialogue with EPA and our adversaries
in the Congress.
Some have even
suggested that coal state representatives in Washington should block
any advancement of national health care reform legislation until the
coal industry’s demands are met by the EPA. I believe that the notion
of holding the health care of over 300 million Americans hostage in
exchange for a handful of coal permits is beyond foolish; it is morally
indefensible. It is a non-starter, and puts the entire state of West Virginia and the coal industry in a terrible light.
To be part of
any solution, one must first acknowledge a problem. To deny the
mounting science of climate change is to stick our heads in the sand
and say “deal me out.” West Virginia would be much smarter to stay at
the table.
The
20 coal-producing states together hold some powerful political cards.
We can have a part in shaping energy policy, but we must be honest
brokers if we have any prayer of influencing coal policy on looming
issues important to the future of coal like hazardous air pollutants,
climate change, and federal dollars for investments in clean coal
technology.
Most people
understand that America cannot meet its current energy needs without
coal, but there is strong bi-partisan opposition in Congress to the
mountaintop removal method of mining it. We have our work cut out for
us in finding a prudent and profitable middle ground – but we will not
reach it by using fear mongering, grandstanding and outrage as a
strategy. As your United States Senator, I must represent the opinions
and the best interests of the entire Mountain State, not just those of
coal operators and southern coalfield residents who may be strident
supporters of mountaintop removal mining.
I have spent the past six months working with a group of coal state Democrats
in the Senate, led by West Virginia native Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.),
drafting provisions to assist the coal industry in more easily
transitioning to a lower-carbon economy. These include increasing
funding for clean coal projects and easing emission standards and
timelines, setting aside billions of dollars for coal plants that
install new technology and continue using coal. These are among the
achievable ways coal can continue its major role in our national energy
portfolio. It is the best way to step up to the challenge and help lead
change.
The truth is
that some form of climate legislation will likely become public policy
because most American voters want a healthier environment. Major
coal-fired power plants and coal operators operating in West Virginia
have wisely already embraced this reality, and are making significant investments to prepare.
The future of
coal and indeed of our total energy picture lies in change and
innovation. In fact, the future of American industrial power and our
economic ability to compete globally depends on our ability to advance
energy technology.
The greatest
threats to the future of coal do not come from possible constraints on
mountaintop removal mining or other environmental regulations, but
rather from rigid mindsets, depleting coal reserves, and the declining
demand for coal as more power plants begin shifting to biomass and
natural gas as a way to reduce emissions.
Fortunately,
West Virginia has a running head-start as an innovator. Low-carbon and
renewable energy projects are already under development in West
Virginia, including: America’s first integrated carbon capture and
sequestration project on a conventional coal-fired power plant in Mason
County; the largest wind power facility in the eastern United States; a
bio-fuel refinery in Nitro; three large wood pellet plants in Fayette,
Randolph, and Gilmer Counties; and major dams capable of generating
substantial electricity.
Change has been
a constant throughout the history of our coal industry. West Virginians
can choose to anticipate change and adapt to it, or resist and be
overrun by it. One thing is clear. The time has arrived for the people of the Mountain State to think long and hard about which course they want to choose.
