Propping Up Coal

Dear Editor,

The current presidential administration is devoutly anti-progress. How else to explain the latest news out of the White House days ago that America will Make Coal Great Again?

Yes, coal: the filthy remnants of ancient swamps that we used to burn in our darker ages, before we knew that air pollution blackens our sky and lungs, coal ash and tailings foul our water, and coal mining poisons and degrades the land. This very same coal is now being offered a lifeline by the Trump administration, which promises to open up 13 million acres of federal land for exploration and mining, as well as a 625$ billion dollar lifeline to recommission or revamp aging coal plants.

The hypocrisy is startling; an administration so opposed to the cheapest forms of electricity generation (wind and solar) that IRA grants and funding were clawed back, is now backing a return of a stale industry teetering on the brink. Forbes reports that the average cost of coal power increased by 28% between 2021 and 2024, chalked up to aging power plants becoming more expensive to maintain and fuel. Prior to this announcement, it was expected up to 1/3 of the nation's coal fleet would be retired by 2030.

Coal just doesn't make environmental or financial sense, to say nothing of our health. It's time to leave coal in the past.

Sincerely,

Nathan Dombeck, Janesville, WI