The Senate’s version of the House Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade could come out as soon as next week, and coal-producing states – such as Wyoming and West Virginia – are watching like a hawk.

Sometimes I hate writing these things because I come across as a lover of all things coal. In all actuality I would love for a new technology, such as cold-fusion, to come along and make coal instantly obsolete. I don’t like coal; I do like coal miners. I believe in doing what needs to be done to ensure that coal miner can make a living, take care of his family, get the health care he needs, etc. All of this he can do now.

As of 2007 there are 233 coal companies operating in West Virginia with 552 mines. Coal miners on average make $62,700 a year (more than anyone in my family) and the coal industry in WV pays nearly $2 billion in direct wages. Revenue from the state’s coal severance tax for 2008 was $418 million, and that goes to every city and every county.

Any cut in carbon dioxide emissions, which have not been demonstrated as harmful to anything, would mean less coal production, meaning layoffs for coal miners. I’d feel much better about that knowing that we were replacing coal-fired power plants with a new technology or at least nuclear. But neither are happening. Less electricity means more demand meaning higher prices.

Your coal miner will be laid off, have higher electricity prices to contend with, and – with the loss of coal severance tax revenue – will have higher city, county and state taxes. We’re punishing coal miners for making a living. Nobody forced those guys into those mines. This isn’t the 1930s. There are many many more choices of employment now. They go into those mines because they understand how important the job is and they take pride in it.

I wonder if coal protesters really think miners are so stupid? Of course they know the risks and they don’t need spoiled college kids talking down to them.

Companies work hard to extract the coal we need and care for the surrounding environment. Take Wyoming for example, which is the top coal producer in the nation (WV is second). The Heritage Foundation had a great piece about how clean Wyoming is:

While most visitors to the state of Wyoming marvel at miles of sparsely populated natural beauty, rolling mountains, open spaces, and clean air and water, environmentalists do not praise Wyoming but censure the state for its heavy coal development. In fact, Jeremy Nichols of WildEarth Guardians disapprovingly called the state “ground zero for greenhouse emissions.”

Ironically, one of the cleanest and most beautiful states in the union is labeled by environmentalists as the most persistent offender of the environment.

Wyoming produces the most coal in the United States, even though many other states have much greater coal reserves: Montana, for instance, has a lot more coal reserves but Wyoming produces ten times more coal. Wyoming also produces three times more coal than West Virginia – the second highest coal producing state.

Wyoming happens to have one of the healthiest economies in the union, and much of this economic success is due the energy development industry. Although the economy fluctuates with energy markets, Wyoming’s unemployment rates are consistently low; in August it was 5.7% compared to the 9.5% of the country. Wyoming also enjoyed a budget surplus in 2003 and 2005 and it continues to do well, achieving a balanced budget in 2009.

Wyoming may be “ground zero for greenhouse emissions” yet it is a state that has managed to wed clean air and water with a healthy economy. In the wake of onerous cap and trade philosophies, which will severely tax oil and coal production, dramatically raise energy prices, serve a huge blow to the economy, and only cool the earth’s temperature by a fraction of a degree, Wyoming provides us with food for thought on how we can be environmentally clean and economically prosperous.

In the Wake of Cap and Trade, We Can Learn Something from Wyoming » The Foundry

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