Coal Energy Fuels World Industry : Progressives Attack Coal Industry

Come on people, it's not that we all depend on coal to heat our homes and light our lights, this is about doing what right and feels good. Destroying the coal industry so we can save the planet was one of the high priority items on Mr Obama's agenda when he was on the campaign trail in 2007 and 2008.

Remember he said 'With the new regulations that I will put into place under my Cap and Trade policy, plants that produce electrical energy from fossil fuels will skyrocket and this will be passed on the consumer'. Now this exactly how he said it but it's close enough to understand what he had in mind.

The fact that more then 6000 jobs have already been lost in the coal industry since he took office is lost on the general public as it was on the press back in 2008. The media completely ignored his statements. They knew what he said but so starry eyed over the magnificence of Mr Obama and how he will transform politics and the country, it was just a nonstory.

I wonder if they have a memory of what they said back then or care how their refusal to understand the consequences of being completely partisan has tortured our country, the media being progressive hacks for the Democrats. But still, for many in the press and on the left, Mr Obama is still the "One". hallula! Pass the Kool-Aid.

Coal in the Global Energy Landscape
Source: Nicolas Loris, "Coal in the Global Energy Landscape," Heritage Foundation, December 11, 2013.
Source: Nicolas Loris, "Coal in the Global Energy Landscape," Heritage Foundation, December 11, 2013.
December 20, 2013

Coal could surpass oil as the world's number one energy source by 2017, says Nicolas Loris, a fellow at the Heritage Foundation.

• Coal provides 30 percent of the world's energy, 41 percent of the world's electricity generation, and factors into 70 percent of the world's steel production.
• China produced 45.3 percent of the world's coal in 2012, up from 13.6 percent in 1973. India is projected to surpass the United States in coal production and become the second-largest coal producer in the next five years.
• Unlike in the United States, where regulators are trying to reduce coal production, China and India have no plans to do so.
• Over the 1,200 proposals for coal-fired power plants across the globe, 818 of those are in China and India.

Other countries are also focused on coal.

• Much attention has been concentrated on Europe's push for renewable energy, but coal is still a major player.
• There are plans to build 69 coal-fired plants in Europe, 47 in Turkey and 48 in Russia.
• In Australia, 75 percent of the country's electricity comes from coal.

Forty percent of electricity in the United States is generated from coal-fired power plants, yet lawmakers and regulators are increasingly looking to impose restrictions on plants and mining operations. If coal is declining based on market forces (the transition to cheaper natural gas, for example), consumers are made better off and the economy benefits. But imposing unnecessary restrictions that have no environmental benefit on coal operations brings higher prices and destroys jobs. Other countries across the globe recognize how dependable and affordable coal is, and the United States should follow suit.