Miner Bo Copley: Trump’s executive order on climate is ‘a good start’
Bo Copley, the out-of-work coal miner who famously confronted Hillary Clinton on the campaign trail, said he thinks President Trump’s executive order rolling back environmental protections are “a good start” for following through on his election promise of putting coal miners back to work.
In conversation with Yahoo Global News Anchor Katie Couric, Copley said the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has regulated the coal industry differently than its competitors, such as natural gas, in ways that have driven up its costs.
The West Virginia miner, a father of three, said there’s nothing the president can do to completely revitalize the coal industry overnight, but that the recent executive order might help to even the playing field.
“I don’t know the far-reaching scope on everything that it entails but I do think that a lot of people here do view it as a way for him to try to hold up to his end of his promises that he made on the campaign trail,” Copley said.
He said he understands that his industry’s actions leave a footprint and that efforts should be taken to minimize the impact. Still, he said, the Obama administration’s push for clean and sustainable energy resources — like wind and solar power — left many in coal country feeling unfairly targeted.
“For us it would have been better to try to bring other energies in a little at a time,” he said. “We just felt like to come in and completely try to stomp out coal made us feel like we were completely targeted instead of trying to let these other energies become more viable, actually more competitive.”
Copley, who lost his coal-company job in September 2015, became a defining figure in the 2016 presidential election after confronting Clinton in Williamson, W. Va., about her comments on coal miners. During a CNN Town Hall in March 2016, Clinton said, “We’re going to put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business.”
Scientists and environmentalists have denounced Trump’s controversial executive order on “Energy Independence.” It begins the process of dismantling the Obama-era Clean Power Plan, which limits greenhouse gas emissions from coal-burning power plants.
The burning of fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, or natural gas, releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, driving global climate change. Coal is the biggest offender. The overwhelming majority of scientists say that the evidence is incontrovertible that humans must reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases immediately to stave off the most disastrous consequences of climate change.
The American Association for the Advancement of Science released a statement saying, “The scientific evidence is clear: global climate change caused by human activities is occurring now, and it is a growing threat to society.”
Given this scenario, many suggest that the Trump administration would better serve coal miners by preparing them for new jobs that account for the reality of climate change rather than encouraging them to cling to their traditional livelihood.
When Couric brought up this point, Copley said he knows that coal has a limited future but that he thinks it can be extended. He argued that coal country should utilize this natural resource while it lasts and develop other economic opportunities in the meantime so future generations have more options.
“I think we do need other opportunities in our state. One of my biggest concerns going into the election was [that] I want to see a better future. I want to see something that my kids can prosper from, not just say, ‘OK, I’m finished with school now. I’m going to work in a coal mine.’ I want them to have options.”
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