The War on Coal: An Editorial

Back in July, Mike Harmon wrote an opinion piece in the Charleston, West Virginia, Gazette. In it he said,

Looking back historically, a major battle in the war on coal may have been the enactment of the child labor laws that were passed in this country during the Franklin D. Roosevelt Administration. This act of Congress threw thousands of children out of work in the mines and cut deeply into coal company profits.

As bizarre as this sounds, Harmon’s point rings true. Sadly, these days, the most vocal spokespersons for the coal industry appear to be terming any efforts, no matter how decent, that could make the industry have to adjust, part of a “war on coal.” Harmon cites not only child labor laws, but also, “the Coal Mine Safety and Health Act, the Black Lung Compensation Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, Surface Mine Reclamation Act and the Forty Hour Work Week.” Yes, even the weekend, for Heaven’s sake, would have to be viewed, by current industry standards, as part of a “War on Coal.”

All businesses and industries, not to mention government agencies and non-profits, have to constantly adjust to changing conditions. In 1899, my maternal grandfather, C.T. Potter, acquired his father-in-law’s livery stable busines. During his first decade as sole proprietor, the automobile began to take the place of the horse as the primary mode of transportation. My grandfather did not complain about a “War on Horses.” Rather, he adjusted his business to a feed store serving the owners of all kinds of livestock and eventually became a gas distributor for Mobil Oil.

In the summer of 1961, I argued in favor of a city ordinance proposed for my home town—Oak Ridge, Tennessee—that would integrate the town’s barber shops. I was not engaged in a “War on Barbers.” I just thought everyone would be better off if black Oak Ridgers didn’t have to go to Knoxville to get a haircut. The Saturday before that meeting and the Saturday after, my father and I had our hair cut at one of the shops whose barbers had argued against the ordinance.

Last summer, two Appalachian Senators, Lamar Alexander, a Republican from Tennessee, and Jay Rockerfeller, a Democrat from West Virginia, spoke out against the coal industry’s attack on the Environmental Protection Agency with great reason. How ironic and sad it is that the coal industry lambasted the epa’s standards for the reduction of air pollution at coal-fired power plants. In the short run, it might be convenient for coal operators to continue business as usual selling to polluting plants, but in the long run, the only way to insure a future market for their product is for there to be stable, responsible, electric utilities. The coal industry should be the biggest supporter not only of clean air, but also of responsible mining. Instead of closing ranks with everyone in their industry, no matter how irresponsible, they should be the biggest opponent of any rogues among them who would give them a bad name by not holding the environment from which they extract their product in high regard.

Sure, “de-regulation” sometimes makes sense. It is very easy to become irritated by what seems to be ubiquitous beaurocratic rigamarole eminating from the government. Realistically, however, excess paperwork is not just a government problem. It proliferates from a plethora of other agencies and institutions we all deal with every day, including many on the fore-front of griping about the government.

As long as the coal industry simply opposes any kind of government regulation, then their voices aren’t heard when legislation is finalized. What needs to happen is for the leaders of the coal business to work with environmentalists to devise laws that do protect the environment but that do so in a way that minimizes any excess hassle for coal operators.

Recently a group at the University of Kentucky has argued that UK Athletics should reject sponsorship from the coal industry just as it has rejected the liquor and tobacco industries. The way coal...