Some former coal towns turn to nature tourism as a new economic driver

Feb 28, 2018
Tourism economy around natural beauty is starting to replace extractive industries in some former West Virginia and PA coal towns.
Cyclists cross a bridge over the Youghiogheny River, veering off the Great Allegheny Passage, to check out downtown West Newton.
Courtesy of Rick Armstrong

Why investing in coal companies may not help the people living in coal country

Jan 11, 2018
When we subsidize coal companies, does that make it back to the people living in coal country? In her reporting for Quartz, economics writer Gwynn Guilford found that the answer may be a loud, resounding “no.” For her article “The 100-year capitalist experiment that keeps Appalachia poor, sick, and stuck on coal,” Guilford reported on the […]

Coal subsidy sinks after federal committee votes “no”

Jan 9, 2018
The Federal Energy Regulatory Committee voted down a proposal from the Department of Energy offering financial support for power plants that keep a 90-day supply of fuel stock on site (basically coal and nuclear plants). The FERC said the cost to consumers far outweighed any possible grid security benefit of the measure.

Trump’s promises have some coal miners optimistic — so they’re staying in the industry

Dec 27, 2017
While some coal miners continue looking for work in the industry, others look to careers outside of coal for more stability.
Low natural gas prices will likely continue to keep the coal market weak. Above, a coal mound in Shelbiana, Kentucky.
Photo by Luke Sharrett/Getty Images

GE to cut 12,000 jobs as demand for fossil fuel power stations falls

Dec 7, 2017
General Electric Co. announced today it’s cutting 12,000 jobs in its core power business worldwide, as demand for coal and other fossil fuels softens. It’s the latest move by new CEO John Flannery to cut costs and turn things around at the struggling conglomerate, whose stock plunged 44 percent this year. GE Power is the company’s […]

There's no giving up on coal in Greene County, Pennsylvania

Dec 1, 2017
While there's plenty of money for free job training in health care and trucking, local workers pack coal classes instead.
Students sit in a miner training class at a career center in Greene County, Pennsylvania.
Erika Beras/Marketplace
Flared natural gas burns off at Apache Corporation's operations at the Deadwood natural gas plant in Garden City, Texas. 
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Trump administration halts study on mining, thanks to proposed budget cuts

Aug 22, 2017
Some studies have shown increased rates of health problems for people who live near these mining sites.
A large mountaintop coal mining operation in West Virginia. 
MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images

Coal under Trump: one miner’s perspective

Aug 18, 2017
"When somebody has something good to say about you, you’d say, 'You know what? That’s great.'”
Don Stahly, a third-generation coal miner, has been working underground in Colorado's West Elk Mine since 1999. He says he understands his job will not last forever, but is happy with what President Trump is doing to bolster the coal industry.
Dan Boyce

Wind power cuts into Nebraska's increasing use of coal

Aug 8, 2017
Nebraska is the only state in the lower 48 using more coal for generating electricity than it did a decade ago.
 Caterpillar front-loading machinery operates on mounds of coal.
Luke Sharrett/Getty Images