from the blog : CHARLES MAHTESIAN
The Appalachian election backdrop
By CHARLES MAHTESIAN|
10/17/12
The Coal Country backlash against President Obama -- particularly in
Kentucky, West Virginia and southwestern Virginia -- is better understood
within
the context of this deeply pessimistic coal industry forecast.
>From _The Rural Blog_
(http://irjci.blogspot.com/2012/10/central-appalachian-coal-mining-will.html) :
Alan Stagg, one of the most respected consultants in the coal industry,
told a major industry gathering last month that he expects coal mining in
Central Appalachia to end in the next 10 to 20 years because the job-hungry
region's coal is getting more difficult to mine, mainly because of geological
limitations but also because of regulations, Darren Epps reports for SNL
Financial…
"This is the elephant in the room. No one wants to acknowledge that reserve
depletion is profound," Stagg, of Cross Lanes, W.Va., said at Platt's Coal
Marketing Days in Pittsburgh on Sept. 21. "Mining conditions are
difficult, and the cost to produce is high. That is a physical fact. It's not
pleasant. Nobody wants to acknowledge it. That is a fact, and companies that
ignore that fact will not do so well. . . . And by nature, regulations will
always increase."
While the administration's coal policy might not be the only reason Appa
lachia dislikes Obama, it's clearly the driving force. And when you combine
that with the industry's uncertain future, it's easy to envision the
president winning less than 40 percent in places like West Virginia.
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