New President-Elect Donald Trump has promised to end the so called war on coal all throughout his campaign. This was on called is attributed to excessive environmental regulation imposed on the production and usage of coal. These restrictions often consist of limits on sulfur, mercury, and CO2 emissions. The weakening of the coal industry however can be attributed to fracking shale gas in the Appalachian region. Miners and power plants are feeling the effects of these regulations the most through taxes.

The state of the US coal economy relates to environmental science in that it also represents international trends in how the world is utilizing coal as well as how they are avoiding the use of it. With the US coal economy in bad shape, it stimulates development in areas of alternate energy production and sustainable substitute methods. I find that the weakness of the industry is definitely good in terms of trying to achieve a cleaner, more sustainable world, however this is not economically good and will cost many jobs. It is frightening but comforting to know that coal restrictions might be lifted, however this could be a large step backwards in terms of solving international climate change.