Dear Future President,

I am writing to you in regards to our energy resources. All of these pushes to end coal so quickly need to stop. Yes, I do agree that coal is a very dirty resource, and I do think it would be a good idea to put an end to it, but not immediately. This is a process that needs a lot of time. I think that a slow progression away from coal would be a much better idea than just shutting down all of these coal companies as fast as you can.

Shutting down coal companies will greatly impact employment throughout the U.S. There are about 30,000 jobs that are directly connected to the coal industry in West Virginia, my home state. That doesn’t include the thousands of jobs provided by the 42 coal power plants in West Virginia. Getting rid of coal will only lead to thousands of families without income. Unemployment rates will skyrocket. Coal needs to be left alone to fizzle out on its own.

There is no need to shut them down. They are already being beat by the ever decreasing prices of the natural gas industry. Natural gas is not only cheaper, but better for the environment, releasing 50% to 60% less carbon emissions. The natural gas industry itself will eliminate the coal industry over the next couple of years.

Switching coal for renewable energy is also very expensive. At the current time, renewable resources are not efficient enough to entirely replace coal. This is why I believe that the coal industry needs to be left alone to die by itself.