Apr 21 Environment Mine Workers’ Leader Wants To Save Last Coal Jobs As Biden Tackles Climate United Mine Workers of America President Cecil Roberts said he’s been hearing the term “just transition” tossed around for more than 20 years as part of the long-running, nearly Sisyphean discussion about climate change, clean energy, and coal country. Simply put: he’s not a fan. “I ask anybody who has been uttering those two words […] By Jeff Young Apr 21 Environment Mine Workers’ Leader Wants To Save Last Coal Jobs As Biden Tackles Climate Jeff Young
Apr 18 Environment Sen. Manchin, UMWA’s Roberts Talk Energy Transition West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin will take part in a discussion on Monday about the future of energy and coalfield communities. Manchin will participate in a one-hour event hosted by the National Press Club called “A Conversation on Energy Transition and Working Families.” Manchin, a former West Virginia governor, has a prominent role in Washington […] By Curtis Tate Apr 18 Environment Sen. Manchin, UMWA’s Roberts Talk Energy Transition Curtis Tate
Apr 5 Environment WV Remembers Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster On 11th Anniversary Monday marks 11 years since the Upper Big Branch coal mine disaster in Raleigh County, West Virginia, where 29 miners were killed on April 5, 2010. Federal mine safety investigators determined that a buildup of methane gas and coal dust led to the explosion at the Massey Energy-owned mine. It was the worst mine disaster […] By Curtis Tate Apr 5 Environment WV Remembers Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster On 11th Anniversary Curtis Tate
Mar 26 Environment Study Shows Bias, Conflicts Of Interest Among Doctors Who Read Black Lung X-rays Doctors hired by coal companies in black lung cases are far less likely to diagnose the disease in X-rays than are independent doctors or those who are hired by coal miners, a new study has concluded, pointing to conflicts of interest in the system that sick miners use to receive assistance. The doctors who worked […] By Curtis Tate Mar 26 Environment Study Shows Bias, Conflicts Of Interest Among Doctors Who Read Black Lung X-rays Curtis Tate
Mar 10 Health Coal Mine Safety Regulators Issue COVID Protection Guidelines, But No Regulations The U.S. Department of Labor announced Wednesday stronger coronavirus safety guidance intended to keep coal miners safe from COVID-19 in the workplace. However, the Labor Department’s Mine Safety and Health Administration stopped short of issuing an emergency standard — as the mine workers’ union had requested — and instead kept to voluntary guidelines. “This updated […] By Jeff Young Mar 10 Health Coal Mine Safety Regulators Issue COVID Protection Guidelines, But No Regulations Jeff Young
Dec 14 Economy Blackjewel Coal Alleges ‘Intentional, Willful’ Self-Dealing By Former CEO The filing instigates a civil lawsuit against Hoops, a major escalation in a protracted case with broad implications for the coal industry. By Sydney Boles, Ohio Valley ReSource Dec 14 Economy Blackjewel Coal Alleges ‘Intentional, Willful’ Self-Dealing By Former CEO Sydney Boles, Ohio Valley ReSource
Nov 16 Environment Federal Watchdog Finds Coal Safety Regulator Not Protecting Miners From Silica Dust The Mine Safety and Health Administration is not doing enough to protect coal miners from deadly silica dust, according to a new report from the Department of Labor’s Office of the Inspector General. The IG found that MSHA’s standards for exposure to deadly silica dust were out of date, and MSHA lacked the ability to […] By Sydney Boles, Ohio Valley ReSource Nov 16 Environment Federal Watchdog Finds Coal Safety Regulator Not Protecting Miners From Silica Dust Sydney Boles, Ohio Valley ReSource
Sep 13 Health Remembering A Miner Who Personified Coal’s Contributions And Costs Charles Wayne Stanley ran underground mining machines for some 20 years, cutting coal from beneath the hills where Virginia meets Kentucky along the Cumberland ridge. He spent another decade as a roof bolter, work that kept the rock above from falling in on his fellow miners. Stanley was 53 when the Ohio Valley ReSource and […] By Jeff Young Sep 13 Health Remembering A Miner Who Personified Coal’s Contributions And Costs Jeff Young
Aug 28 Environment ‘False Hope’ Or Four More Years? Ohio Valley Stakeholders Reflect On Trump Energy Policy Many in Ohio Valley coal regions are reading the tea leaves on what another four years of a Trump administration might look like. By Sydney Boles, Ohio Valley ReSource Aug 28 Environment Ohio Valley Stakeholders Reflect On Trump Energy Policy Sydney Boles, Ohio Valley ReSource
Jul 28 Environment ‘No Pay, We Stay.’ A Look Back At Miners’ Protest That Rocked Appalachia One year ago, Cumberland, Ky. played host to a two-month long protest of a kind that hadn’t been seen in coal country for decades. By Sydney Boles, Ohio Valley ReSource Jul 28 Environment 'No Pay, We Stay.' A Look Back At Miners’ Protest That Rocked Appalachia Sydney Boles, Ohio Valley ReSource
Apr 5 Arts and Culture Coal Country: Can A Play About A Mine Disaster Help Bridge A National Divide? “Coal Country" introduced New York theater-goers to the real lives of families affected by the tragedy at the Upper Big Branch mine. By Jeff Young Apr 5 Arts and Culture Can A Play About A Mine Disaster Help Bridge A National Divide? Jeff Young
Apr 2 Environment Justice Coal Companies Agree To Settle $5 Million In Delinquent Mine Safety Debts Coal companies owned by the family of W. Va. Gov. Jim Justice have agreed to pay more than $5 million in overdue health and safety fines. By Brittany Patterson, Ohio Valley ReSource Apr 2 Environment Justice Companies Agree To Settle $5 Million In Delinquent Debts Brittany Patterson, Ohio Valley ReSource
Feb 24 Health Black Lung Benefits Drop For Kentucky Coal Miners After Controversial Law Change Since the change, the percentage of Kentucky miners diagnosed with black lung fell from 54 percent before the law change to just 26 percent. By Sydney Boles, Ohio Valley ReSource Feb 24 Health Black Lung Benefits Drop For Ky. Coal Miners After Law Change Sydney Boles, Ohio Valley ReSource
Jan 14 Environment More Unpaid Appalachian Miners Stage A Coal Train Blockade Another group of coal miners in eastern Kentucky is blocking a trainload of coal to protest their lack of pay. By Sydney Boles, Ohio Valley ReSource Jan 14 Environment More Unpaid Appalachian Miners Stage A Coal Train Blockade Sydney Boles, Ohio Valley ReSource
Dec 10 Environment Study Shows Surface Coal Miners Are Exposed To Toxic Dust That Causes Black Lung The research is the first to specifically analyze long-term data on exposure to toxic silica dust for workers at surface mines. By Sydney Boles, Ohio Valley ReSource Dec 10 Environment Study: Surface Coal Miners Are Exposed To Toxic Dust, Too Sydney Boles, Ohio Valley ReSource