Charleston Gazette – Coal production in Southern West Virginia and the rest of central Appalachia will continue to plummet over the next 30 years, according to a new report that examines multiple stresses that are pressuring the region’s mining industry. Read
Ted Boettner, executive director of the West Virginia Center for Budget and Policy, said the new Downstream Strategies report shows why the political climate around coal’s future needs to change.
“As more people come to grips with the fact that coal is declining in the region and will not return to historic levels, it could present a tremendous opportunity to rethink our past and plan for the future,” Boettner said. “It is going to take vision, strategies and leadership at the local and state level to ensure that the state has a soft landing instead of hard one. I think West Virginians are up for the challenge, but first we need to recognize the problem.”
