US coal production drops to lowest level since 1981

[bemildred]

The last time coal production in the United States was this low, Donald Trump was just beginning to build his real estate empire, Ronald Reagan was sworn in as president, and Ordinary People won an Academy Award for best picture. According to the Energy Information Administration, only 173 million tons were produced in the first three months of 2016. The last time that amount of coal was produced, in 1981, there was a good reason for it: the country was in the midst of a major coal strike. Now, culpability for the low numbers comes mostly from a lack of demand, namely, a mild winter that has severely crimped the need to burn the fossil fuel.

"Above-normal temperatures during the winter of 2015–16 were a key reason for the large decrease in coal production during the first three months of 2016. Throughout the fourth quarter of 2015, electric power plants received more coal than they consumed, leading to a net increase of 34 MMst (million short tons) in coal stockpiles, the highest fourth-quarter net increase on record," the EIA states in a June 10 press release.

http://www.mining.com/us-coal-production-drops-to-lowest-level-since-1981/

[MFM008]

1. good.... needs to stop

The oil trains run though my small town in Washington State, you can smell them.
The skeptics better get used to those higher temps.

[bemildred]

2. Sounded like good news to me.

I remember using a coal furnace for heat when I was small.

[4dsc]

3. Too bad the rest of the world isn't following suit.

Great for us but the rest of the world isn't going to follow suit as they continue to build more and more coal fired power plants.

[bemildred]

4. Boy, everybody is just a bundle of cheer around here lately.

It seems unlikely the rest of the world will curtail their use of hydrocarbons if we don't, and coal most of all, because it's the most accessbile and cheapest.