Coal

Trump surrounded himself with coal miners when he signed his energy executive order, a very public signal that he was making good on a campaign promise to end the “war on coal.” But not all miners agree on the future of their industry.

China says it’ll invest an additional $361 billion in renewable energy projects by 2020, and in the process create 13 million new jobs. The move’s in sharp contrast to Donald Trump’s promise to reinvigorate the coal industry in the US. Mary Kay Magistad of The World’s “Whose Century Is It?” podcast says China seems to have a clearer vision of the future.

Natural gas and renewable energy are out-competing coal and nuclear — but FirstEnergy, an Ohio-based power company, isn’t ready to give up.

With coal generating less than 40 percent of electricity in the country today, miners are in mourning. Mass lay-offs have become weekly news and residents in Central Appalachia, an area once rich with opportunity, don’t know what to do next.

For years, the coal industry has enjoyed tax benefits and exemptions from strict environmental regulations. But those days might be over: President Barack Obama is using EPA authority under the Clean Air Act to try to curb coal power plant emissions, including CO2 and mercury. But coal interests are fighting back in the courts.