The truth
Politicians have been known over the years for never letting the facts get in the way of a good argument.
Unfortunately, that trend seems to be picking up some steam these days.
And count Steven Kelly, press secretary for U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa. among one of the worst offenders.
Kelly was asked for comments last week about the announcement concerning the closing of the Emerald Mine in Greene County at the end of 2015.
Here’s what Kelly said.
“Today’s news of the closing of Emerald Mine in Waynesburg is heartbreaking, but all too predictable,” said Kelly.
“During a town hall meeting this past Tuesday in Waynesburg, Sen. Toomey and his constituents discussed the negative economic ramifications of the Obama administration’s ‘War on Coal,'” he added. “Unfortunately, this war has claimed another 500 jobs in southwest Pennsylvania.
Well, either Kelly didn’t seek the facts or chose to ignore them.
In making its announcement, Alpha Natural Resources of Bristol, Va., said one of the reasons it was closing the longwall mine was due to a challenging domestic regulatory environment.
But that was only one of three reasons given. A second reason was the depressed coal market. However, the third reason was overwhelmingly the most important. The company admitted the mine was running out of coal. Yes, the mine is just about mined out. It’s done, finished, whatever you want to say. If Obama had never been elected president, the mine would be closing because there’s no coal left to mine.
Even John Pippy, CEO of the Pennsylvania Coal Alliance, which has been one of the biggest critics of Obama’s energy policies, admitted the truth in this case.
“My understanding is that (the closure) is more about the life cycle of the mine rather than any kind of governmental regulations,” said Pippy. Cheers to Pippy for coming clean, and jeers to Kelly for his mudslinging.
Kelly’s comments were similar to those made by U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Hollidaysburg, who blamed the shutdown of the Hatfield Ferry and Mitchell power plants in our area last year on Obama and his supposed “war on coal.”
However, James H. Lash, president of FirstEnergy Generation, which owns the plants, told a state Senate committee last October that the shutdowns were due to market conditions, including an abundance of low-cost natural gas from the Marcellus shale industry.
But the “war on coal” plays better politically for Shuster, so he continues to spread outright lies about this important issue. We’ll see if Kelly attempts to correct his comments or continues to play politics like Shuster.
Of course, Obama is proposing some tough new air pollution requirements which could have a negative impact on the coal industry. But nothing has been decided so far, and the coal companies along with local politicians should be doing everything within their power to try and reach some type of compromise with the officials from the Environmental Protection Agency.
The regulations also aren’t expected to go into effect anytime soon, giving coal companies a chance to see if any technological advances can be made in the meantime to meet them. Perhaps. the regulations could be postponed until certain advances are made.
But another major problem facing the coal industry is the emerging Marcellus shale industry. Its abundant supply is sending natural gas prices lower than what they’ve been in ages. That’s resulting in a number of utilities and industries switching from coal to natural gas.
There are ways of dealing with these problems. The coal industry has overcome some difficult challenges in the past and may well be able to overcome them in the future. But spreading lies or untruths about the problem isn’t going to help anyone.