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[–] Kannibal [S] ago 

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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