Feature Stories
Former West Virginia University Head Football Coach Don Nehlen Rallies For Coal
August 19, 2011
Former West Virginia University head football coach Don Nehlen thinks those in Washington who regulate coal need to come to West Virginia and get to know the industry better. He also believes the key to the industry’s survival is voting out…
Marcellus Shale: Department of Energy Panel Recommends Changes to Improve Hydraulic Fracturing
August 15, 2011
A U.S. Department of Energy (Washington, D.C.) panel said that a variety of operational, regulatory and communications steps could be taken to reduce the environmental impacts of hydraulic fracturing and lower public concerns about the process. The panel’s report, released August…
Mining Projects Pick Up Steam in Wisconsin
August 12, 2011
The proposed Gogebic mine near Hurley has attracted the lion’s share of attention on mining matters in Wisconsin this year, but other projects are also picking up momentum. Three other mining ventures in Marathon, Taylor and Oneida counties are getting attention,…
Commentary: Obama’s War on Coal
August 12, 2011
President Obama claims to see the need to create jobs at this time of endless 9-plus percent unemployment — yet his administration continues to relentlessly destroy jobs for ideological reasons. The best example may be the Obama Environmental Protection Agency’s “war…
White House, EPA Ignore SBA’s Report That New Coal Regulations Will Kill Jobs, Econony
August 12, 2011
President Barack Obama is ignoring heated concerns from within his own administration that new Environmental Protection Agency coal industry regulations will be economically devastating. The EPA is plowing forward with new Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) mandates. The regulations would force…
Real Life Mining Stories With Leadership Lessons: Good Leaders Focus on Team, Not Self
August 10, 2011
One of the indications of authority in the coal mine in Ohio was the “buglight.” The proper name of the instrument is the Koehler flame safety lantern. This lantern replaced the cannery as the primary tool for detecting deficiency of oxygen…
Tests Begin at Wyoming Carbon Storage Site as Challenges Loom Large
August 9, 2011
On a mid-June afternoon in the dusty plains of southwest Wyoming a team of oil drillers got the final thumbs-up to begin boring deep into the earth. As of yesterday they were more than 90 percent of the way to reaching…
New WCA Case Study: Arch Coal Safety Program
August 3, 2011
US coal producer is leading the way in mine safety and has created a culture in which every employee takes responsibility for keeping themselves and their colleagues injury-free. As a result, the company has reduced its incident rate by 70 percent…
Indonesia Coal Boom Creates Jungle Wealth
July 28, 2011
Nearly two decades ago Sunarti Abror, the daughter of a vegetable seller in Indonesia, invested the family savings in three excavators, which she leased to coal miners who used only hand tools. Today, Mrs. Abror, 59, has three coal mines of…
Commentary: Coal Powers Bloomberg’s New York, Just As It Does the Rest of the Nation
July 26, 2011
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg donated $50 million last week to the Sierra Club’s campaign to shut down coal-fired power plants. Here in Appalachia, it’s another knife to the heart. So here is my response — my plea — to the…
