Moving onto whats new for Appalachia. Whats "After coal"

Even if you didn't have the EPA making sure that coal mines didn't dump MORE sludge, and leave more bare maintain tops, Natural gas is basically simply killing the coal industry. The much lower cost to produce power with natural gas means that companies are switching over to NG as fast as wells can be sunk. Power companies in Kentucky have taken to running the Natural Gas "backup generators" all the time, and using the coal ones as back ups. The MARKET demand for coal in the United States is so low, that its actually become more profitable to ship the coal to China. Simply put no one wants coal if they can get Natural Gas, and now wind is down below coal in cost, solar is very close as well. And there is no long overhead, solar panels last 50+ years. (Actually most of the first solar panels ever put up are in perfect working order. Coal is effectively the new whale based lap oil. It's being killed because there simply are better alternatives. (All of which must also deal with the EPA but are simply less damaging.) If coal companies or state government where really interested in "coal county" they would have been taking some of the coal money and investing it in whats after coal. It should be like that with almost all businesses. Even with wind and solar, if you put up all the solar panels you can in a area, you should be thinking about what comes after that. But coal companies don't give a shit, they will take the coal and leave ugly toxic holes when ever they can get away with it. We need to be looking at what is next, communities that simply fight to stay the same get left behind and die.

So as part of the new Promise area plan, the Obama Administration has ear marked $20 million from the Department of Labor for states to help workers who lost their coal mining jobs by training them for other professions and $25 million to the Appalachian Regional Commission to help coal communities develop economic development plans.

$1 Billion dollars ear marked to redevelop abandoned coal mines... The list of redevelopments includes "Fishing Areas" "Water Storage" And "Alternative Power Sites" Mountain top removal areas are after all large flat areas with nothing blocking sunlight or wind, with no real vegetation growth. So perfect areas for solar sells and wind turbines. I in fact know of at least four Mines in Clay County that qualify. (Mind you it would be hard to get the money for all four of them) But still. Any of those projects would benefit both businesses and people. Really what else do you want them to do? State Government has to agree to the measures under the promise areas.