1,100 planned layoffs likely to deal major blow to Appalachia’s iconic coal industry

[theHandpuppet]

http://dailydigestnews.com/2014/08/1100-planned-layoffs-likely-to-deal-major-blow-to-appalachias-iconic-coal-industry/
1,100 planned layoffs likely to deal major blow to Appalachia’s iconic coal industry
Industry forecasts for 2015 reveal that coal production from Central Appalachia will be less than 50 percent of the region’s output in 2009.
By Ross Cronkrite, Daily Digest News
Saturday, August 02, 2014

Alpha Natural Resources announced Thursday that it expects to lay off 1,100 employees at 11 surface coal mines in West Virginia due to continued weak market condition and federal regulations. The reductions are expected to occur by mid-October.

In 2012, The Washington Post’s Brad Plumer wrote about the problems facing Central Appalachia’s coal industry. Not only have coal jobs been disappearing for decades, but inexpensive natural gas from shale fracking and EPA regulations have also negatively impacted the region’s iconic coal industry.

The Alpha Natural Resource’s statement said federal regulations that are forcing electric utilities to shutter coal-fired power plants and do without new construction are partially responsible for the planned layoffs. Furthermore, the excess supply of coal worldwide has added to falling coal prices.

Industry forecasts for 2015 reveal that coal production from Central Appalachia will be less than 50 percent of the region’s output in 2009. In addition to new federal regulations, competition from natural gas has contributed to a significant decline in demand.... MORE

[femmocrat]

1. But the miners blame Obama.

He is responsible for the "War on Coal," ya'know.

[iandhr]

2. Wouldn't be surprised...

…. if they were timing it to the election.

[theHandpuppet]

3. Right now I'm more worried about 1100 families that will have no income

Rather than how they are being played as political pawns.

[iandhr]

5. agreed

[theHandpuppet]

6. For instance, if our country got serious about repairing our crumbling infrastructure...

Just think how many jobs could be provided not only in Appalachia but around the country. The way the system works now, people are kept in constant fear of losing a job. Of course that works to the advantage of corporations and certainly to the disadvantage of unions.

[iandhr]

7. No doubt.

[eppur_se_muova]

4. WV will join the growing ranks of states with more jobs in solar and wind than in coal ...

http://www.worldwatch.org/node/5824

August 4, 2014 • Updated: 1 min 5 sec ago

Coal Industry Hands Out Pink Slips While Green Collar Jobs Take Off

Washington, D.C.-A transition to renewable energy sources promises significant global job gains at a time when the coal industry has been hemorrhaging jobs for years, according to the latest Vital Signs Update released by the Worldwatch Institute.

The coal, oil, and natural gas industries require steadily fewer jobs as high-cost production equipment takes the place of human capital. Many hundreds of thousands of coal mining jobs have been shed in China, the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, and South Africa during the last two decades, sometimes in the face of expanding production. In the United States alone, coal industry employment has fallen by half in the last 20 years, despite a one-third increase in production.

"Renewables are poised to tackle our energy crisis and create millions of new jobs worldwide," according to Worldwatch Senior Researcher Michael Renner. "Meanwhile, fossil fuel jobs are increasingly becoming fossils themselves, as coal mining communities and others worry about their livelihoods."

Strong government support has allowed Germany, Spain, and Denmark to emerge as leaders in renewable energy development-and green jobs. The German government reports that the country was home to an estimated 259,000 direct and indirect jobs in the renewables sector in 2006. This figure is expected to reach 400,000-500,000 by 2020, and 710,000 by 2030. In the United States, the renewables sector employed close to 200,000 people directly and 246,000 indirectly in 2006, due mostly to leadership at the state level. China is rapidly catching up in manufacturing of solar photovoltaics (PV) and wind turbines and is already the dominant global force in solar hot water development.

An estimated 2.3 million people worldwide currently work either directly in renewables or indirectly in supplier industries. The solar thermal industry employs at least 624,000 people, the wind power industry 300,000, and the solar PV industry 170,000. More than 1 million people work in the biomass and biofuels sector, while small-scale hydropower employs 39,000 individuals and geothermal employs 25,000.

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