President
Barack Obama may have gotten the U.S. out of the war in Iraq, but at
home he’s declared war on an entire industry, one that the whole country
depends on. But unlike most wars, this one hasn’t gotten much coverage
on the broadcast news networks.
During
the past year ABC, CBS, and NBC have sporadically mentioned coal
industry in their newscasts, but have outright ignored Obama’s war on
coal. Much like in the past, the majority of the reports focused either on the danger of coal mining or climate change. [1]
Out of 13 news reports mentioning the coal industry this past year,
only one sentence on CBS “Morning News” even connected Obama’s
regulation to the industry.
Why
would coal mining communities have a problem with Obama? Because he’s
using environmental regulation to attack a major source of jobs and
electricity, just as he said he would. In 2008, Obama said his plans
would force electricity prices to “necessarily skyrocket.” He also made
it clear, “If somebody wants to build a coal plant, they can -- it’s
just that it will bankrupt them.”
In 2011, Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency “rescinded a valid clean water permit for a coal mine [2],” according to The New York Times.
In spite of this, the networks continue to ignore the story. But major newspapers have been paying attention.
Even liberal leaning news organizations such as The New York Times and The Washington Post, who have favored environmentalists over the coal industry in the past [3], have reported this story. Just in the last month, The Times has reported that the coal industry is “under siege” and “threatened by new regulations from Washington.” [4]
A
front-page story in the June 4 Post said voters in Pennsylvania “coal
country” “see Obama as unfriendly to fossil fuels.” Why? His Keystone XL
decision as well as “the administration’s tougher regulations on
pollutants from coal-fired power plants.”
Another Post story about Obama’s reelection campaign noted: “In
Appalachia, many people are angry at the Environmental Protection
Agency’s approach to mining, arguing that the Obama administration has
made it more difficult for people in coal country to make ends meet.” [5]
To
those who think that this war affects only the coal communities running
along the Appalachia, think again. Coal still provides roughly
one-third of the nation’s power, according to The Times. “Just four years ago it was providing nearly half,” the paper said. [6]
Anything that constricts supply or increases the cost of production
will eventually result in higher electric bills for all Americans.
Phil Kerpen, president of American Commitment, wrote on June 11 that “Just
one of the many anti-coal rules, Utility MACT, by itself is expected to
raise electric bills for homes and businesses more than 20 percent in
the Midwest.” [7]
Obama
likes to claim he has created millions of jobs, yet he has made a point
to attack an industry that in 2011 directly employed 134,000 and
created 3.5 more jobs for each coal mining job, according to the
National Mining Association.
