Thursday, April 27, 2017

Coal-Mining and Climate Change Regulations

In Decatur, Illinois, engineers are constructing self-driving trucks and drills, while autonomous Caterpillars are already being used in Australia. Autonomous machines, are safer, more efficient, more productive …and never need to take a lunch break! The mining industry is fast becoming a high tech industry in need of more engineers and coders than it needs laborers. With the demand for coal decreasing in light of cheaper and more sustainable natural gas fuel, as well as the global effort to reduce carbon emissions, coal mining companies need these productivity enhancing innovations in order to keep prices competitive.

As part of the United States’ climate pact with Paris, former President Barack Obama pledged to reduce its carbon emissions by 26 percent of its 2005 levels. He planned to do this with the Clean Power Plan, which entailed replacing hundreds of coal-fired power plants with wind and solar farms. President Donald Trump, however vowed to overturn Obama’s efforts in the name of protecting, and even returning coal-mining jobs back to the U.S. A recent study has predicted that automation will replace 40 to 80 percent of mine workers, and with the world moving towards clean energy, demand for coal will never return to its previous levels.

Where do you suggest these workers go?

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/29/business/coal-jobs-trump-appalachia.html

3 comments:

  1. I actually just listened to a piece on the rise of solar energy. Although China is currently dominating the production of solar panels, this could be beneficial for the US as well. For every six dollars spent on a solar panel in the US only 1 dollar goes to China, with the other 5 going towards the sales, installation and maintenance process in the US. Along with the rapidly falling cost of solar panels, this could mean many jobs. (I apologize I don't have a link as it was a radio story). http://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2017/04/27/china-sun-solar-energy

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  2. The question of where these workers will go is an important one. Not just with the technological advances in mining, but in all industries where automation is becoming more prevalent. I think that one of the biggest issues is not so much automation, but that we only consider the effects on the population after new technologies have been implemented. The negative effects on people could be mitigated to a greater extent if we ensure that they are equipped with the skills that they need to succeed in the new professions created with technological innovation. It's important that we anticipate the changes in the workplace better than we have been.

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  3. I agree with Shanice. We have to be prepared to find new jobs or create them when we see large amounts of workers losing their job to automation. I also believe this will be a barrier that President Trump will face throughout his time as president. As he continues to attempt to bring jobs back to the United States, they will keep being replaced by automation.

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