Outrage as Trump's coal expansion coupled with health cuts: 'There won't be anyone to work in the mines' [View all]
Source: The Guardian
Sat 19 Apr 2025 11.00 EDT
Last modified on Sat 19 Apr 2025 18.51 EDT
The Trump administrations efforts to expand coal mining while simultaneously imposing deep cuts to agencies tasked with ensuring miner health and safety has left some advocates dumbfounded. Agencies that protect coal miners from serious occupational hazards, including the condition best known as black lung, have been among those affected by major government cuts imposed by the White House and the unofficial department of government efficiency (Doge) run by the billionaire Elon Musk.
The [Mine Workers of America] is thrilled theyre looking at the future of coal, said Erin Bates, a spokesperson for the United Mine Workers of America, about a series of executive orders signed by the president to expand coal mining. But if youre not going to protect the health and safety of the miners, theres not going to be anyone to work in the mines you are apparently reopening.
Last week, Trump signed a raft of measures he said would expand coal mining in the US in order to feed the energy demands of hungry datacenters that power artificial intelligence software. All those plants that have been closed are going to be opened if theyre modern enough, or theyll be ripped down and brand-new ones will be built, Trump told a crowd of lawmakers, workers and executives at the White House while signing the order. Were going to put the miners back to work.
The coal industry has shrunk precipitously in recent years, and now represents only about 15% of the power generated for the US electrical grid. Natural gas, wind and solar have proved to have a competitive advantage over coal, contributing to its decline, because plants are cheaper to operate, according to Inside Climate News. Even as coal mining has shrunk, the potential dangers for people who still work in the field remain high. Pneumoconiosis is among the best known occupational hazards faced by coal miners, but is far from the only risk they face others include roof collapse, hearing loss and lung cancer, to name a few.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/19/trump-coal-mining-health-cuts