[–]Kannibal[S]0 points
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A number of explanations have been offered for the recent decline in coal production and jobs:
Environmental regulations — the primary suspect for some — killed coal.
Deregulating railroads in the 1970s allowed cheap Western coal to displace more costly Eastern coal, resulting in major job losses in the labor-intensive Eastern coal industry.
The fracking revolution has driven down natural gas prices, making coal less competitive in electricity production.
Coal mining jobs are going away because of the same productivity gains that have led to fewer manufacturing jobs across the country — workers can produce more coal per hour, meaning fewer workers are needed to maintain steady coal output.
Other reasons include financial markets, which may see the future of coal as risky (for a variety of reasons) and thus a poor investment.
So which of these causes is the culprit for the recent decline in coal? We take a closer look
[–] Kannibal [S] ago
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