It's Time To Let Coal Die | Climate Town

Writers: Rollie Williams & Matt Nelsen, with help from Ben Boult & Nicole Conlan
Executive Producers: Rollie Williams & Ben Boult & Matt Nelsen
Costarring: Evan Samuels and Adrian Frimpong as Jonathan Silverman and Andrew McCarthy
Cinematographer: Matt Nelsen
Assistant Editor: Xola Thompson
& Special Thanks to Joe Smyth for help with background/research

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[texaswunderkind]

My cousin was a small-town girl at heart who wanted that lifestyle for her family, so she moved out of the city to a small town. A small town with no city water utility, only well water. Unfortunately, the town was only about a mile downwind from a big coal power plant. She got pregnant, but had serious complications and miscarried. More miscarriages followed, with serious life-threatening problems. I started to wonder if the coal power plant could be a factor, and did some research. The coal ash and tailings contain a toxic slurry of some of the most dangerous compounds on earth. They sit in ponds, which leech into the water supply.

[julkiewitz]

Ah, Manchin being a coal baron explains so much. How come this isn't talked about more. This should be the first thing popping in mind when mentioning his name. Guy is just protecting his own bag, the most predictable reason ever

[towhee]

Coal is one of those things.. you can see why it had a reason to be, but you just don't understand why anyone would WANT it to stay around.

[crypticmedicine]

Nodding along to the coal history talk and feeling VERY Appalachian right now...

My great grandfather was a miner and holler preacher in souther KY who died of black lung, my grandmother was born during the Great Depression and spent decades writing about Appalachian issues... especially poverty, black lung, and the company scrip system. She and her sisters were lifelong environmentalists, even though they wouldn't use that word, because of what happened to their father, husbands, and brothers. And they never trusted companies who they felt lied and helped demean Appalachian people to make it easier for city folk to ignore them, which led them to be very pro-Civil Rights in a broader sense, because they saw the connection between their own lives and the lives of others even if the men of their families were only interested in local politics.

Just goes to show that "a product of their time" can actually be a good thing, sometimes.

[pola]

turns out, in a blind chicken finding the corn situation, when trump said "clean coal... they take the coal and scrub it clean" it was the most reasonable clean-coal endorsement statement a politician has ever made

[andrewneely]

It was crazy when WV's top coal miners union came out in favor of Build Back Better and Manchin still tanked it. Coal miners want reliable employment in a burgeoning industry and the federal government needs to play a role in retraining them to work in renewables.

[piccalillipit]

*CAN WE TAKE A SECOND* to appreciate the astonishing production value of this video

[InfernoVor]

It's amazing how much conflict of interest there is in the US government and that such things are even allowed. It's crazy

[ErinReagan]

My great grandfather was a coal miner in Central Pennsylvania. He nearly died in a tunnel collapse one otherwise regular morning when he headed into work. Those jobs are so dangerous, and the people putting their safety in jeopardy to keep our lights on are just absolutely disrespected by the coal companies. To hear that they're actively blocking renewable energy projects and retraining in those counties is infuriating!

[GTAVictor]

Speaking of the coal miners vs coal barons wars, if I remember correctly, the very first airstrike to be used on US soil was used against coal miners during one of these wars.

[bofty]

It’s amazing watching politicians gaslight the public, it’s ridiculous they can get away with it. Great video as always 💯

[ZeroMilk]

Just yesterday I was thinking “I haven’t heard from Rollie the climate nerd in a while” and now here we are! I feel like I manifested this video, lol

[HelloWorld-wfxc]

Fantastic video! We kinda did the exact same stupid thing here in Germany. Right now the the police are brutally clearing a village in order to tear it down and abstract the coal underneath. In 2023.

[samueljessicagiovannucci]

Your video's are terrible for my blood pressure. The more I watch them the more angry and depressed I get. :) Great job!

[skanderbeg]

Your videos are soo good it hurts. The pain of knowing how screwed we are as a society.

[christopherp.]

My grandfather was a coal miner. My dad was the only boy of 4 kids. My grandfather didn't want my dad working in the mines. One time my grandfather risked his life to dig out another miner and drag him out. Unfortunately, the other miner didn't make it.

[TheBeccabus]

I live in Newcastle Australia. A huge coal exporter. Thankful that we have politicians trying to transition while helping people into new jobs. But it's so frustrating that this is still a " future plan" not a history lesson.

Thanks for the great content!

[ericcarabetta]

Your videos are so good, I always want more!! It's incredible to watch the sociopaths in DC burn billions of dollars on these projects that are destined to fail, but will fight tooth and nail to prevent desperate people from getting _any_ of that money, that could be used for housing, infrastructure, etc.

[AminShahsavar]

Love your journalism - hate how I feel the world is so messed up after watching your videos. BUT it's better to know the reality of things!

[NathanHarrison]

This guy is so gifted. A brilliant researcher and presenter in one. His videos should be required viewing for all college students. I’d like to see his take on the unbelievable story of Steven Donziger and Chevron.