9781422285534

Chapter Four: The Coal Industry

mining has a special place in the social history of

North America, as it does in Europe, Russia, and

other regions.

Modern Trends

Coal provides almost two-fifths of all energy

used in the United States, with over 500 coal-

fuelled power plants in operation. The coal

industry continues to be both a major employer

and provider of energy and raw materials.

The industry is making efforts to lessen coal’s

problems by using better pollution control methods, as well as the combined or

integrated technologies described in the next chapter.

However, the number of workers in the mining and coal industries has fallen,

mainly due to

automation

. Mining is also less widespread, with only four states—

Wyoming, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania—providing two-thirds of all

US coal. In recent years, the total amount of coal mined has fallen slightly. Meanwhile,

the amount of electricity generated by coal has been reduced from almost one-half of

the total to about one-third.

There are a number of reasons for these trends. One is the awareness that burning

any fuels, and especially fossil fuels, is a major cause of pollution and climate change.

Coal produces higher amounts of polluting substances than other fuels, such as

natural gas. In addition, new environmental laws make it more costly to build and

operate coal plants. In 2011, President Barack Obama urged the country to develop

more clean energy sources with little or no carbon dioxide pollution; Canada has been

following this path for many years. Also, natural gas has recently become much more

available due to technologies such as

fracking

. And the share of energy provided by

renewables such as solar, wind, and water is rising.

However, the proportion of US coal exported to other regions, mainly Europe

and Asia, is rising slowly. The United Kingdom takes the largest share of steam coal,

while Brazil imports the most coking coal. Anti-coal campaigners argue that the

Importing Coal?

The United States seems to

have so much coal—so why

bring it in from elsewhere?

But for big coal users on

the Gulf Coast and along

the southern Atlantic Coast,

it can cost less to ship

coal from places such as

Colombia, where it is also

cheaper to produce, than

to transport it from mining

areas in the United States.