War on coal? Absolutely…

Just this week, President Obama’s war on coal reared its ugly head. American Electric Power announced that it is closing its coal-fired power plant in Beverly, Ohio. This is on top of FirstEnergy’s announcement that it will close two coal fired power plants in Pennsylvania by October. Both companies cited environmental regulations as reasons for their closures.

These announcements are just the latest fronts of President Obama’s war on coal that is devastating the coal industry and the jobs that go with it. But should we really be surprised? Remember back in 2008, when then-Senator and Candidate Obama told the San Francisco Chronicle that if someone wanted to build a coal fired power plant, it would bankrupt them? President Obama meant what he said. The costs of increased red-tape in the coal industry is forcing coal fired power plants to close.

What happens when coal fired power plants close? Less coal is used to power America and less coal is mined.  This results in coal miners on the unemployment lines rather than working in coal mines. As recently as February, almost 100,000 Americans were employed by U.S. coal mines according to the Energy Information Administration. These are direct coal jobs. But what about indirect coal jobs in service industries and industries surrounding coal? These jobs will vanish if President Obama keeps charging ahead with his war on coal.