Quite true. The only practical way to get coal these days is to blow up mountains to get them out of the way; and most of the jobs are automated. Those days are gone, NEVER to return.
If, on the other hand, we got those people into renewable energy, which is the hot industry and pollution-free…
As a science-fiction fan, I am very much looking forward to the jobless economy. Ask anybody who holds a job now (let alone 2 or 3 of them to try to make ends meet) how much they like work. Virtually everybody will tell you that they can hardly wait until retirement, assuming they can afford it.
But we can afford it — for virtually everybody! We’re the richest society in the history of the planet, and computers and machines are taking over more and more of the really crappy jobs, so there’s no economic reason why the average worker’s career couldn’t run, say, about 10 years, followed by another 50-60 of leisure and recreation. We just have to persuade all the corporate CEOs to share the obscene amounts of wealth they’re hoarding for themselves.
And speaking as someone who was born and raised in Pittsburgh when we still heat our houses by burning coal, and who has cousins with COPD who never smoked one cig: that canary should be coughing…
The canary is right—automated systems and robots will do most of the work.
And just like the XL Pipeline, once it’s built in a couple of years, all those jobs go away and the economies in the northern Plains States go back to the way they were before the pipeline.
@RICHARD S RUSSELL – As far as SF parallels are concerned, I think I would refer to the first half of James Blish’s They Shall Have Stars, coupled with the first couple of chapters of A Life for the Stars, where he accurately predicted Russian dominance (I keep getting haunted by one particular line, where they comment that the Russians outplayed the West because they did not just play to win, they played to wear down the opponent. “Our moves are precisely like theirs now, and thus wholly predictable.”), and the elimination of jobs for anyone with “an IQ under 120.”
There’s a letter to the editor in today’s paper about how “great” Trump’s executive order is lifting the “energy restrictions” from the CEO of the American Coal Council.
With the changing landscape of our nations, these coal miners will have to keep up with the necessary skills to learn the new jobs around coal mining. There will be plenty of opportunities to work cleaning up the rivers now that the GOP is in charge again.
When Hillary campaigned in coal country, she honestly told them that mining jobs were not coming back, that they were gone not so much because of environmental issues as because those jobs had been automated, and even if more coal was needed, the companies would just buy more machines to mine it. She planned to retrain out of work coal miners for other jobs. Trump campaigned with the same people and told them that coal jobs were coming back and he was a champion of “clean coal”, and would begin working on putting them back to work the day he was elected. Guess who the great majority voted for.
Motivemagus about 7 years ago
Quite true. The only practical way to get coal these days is to blow up mountains to get them out of the way; and most of the jobs are automated. Those days are gone, NEVER to return.
If, on the other hand, we got those people into renewable energy, which is the hot industry and pollution-free…
Richard S Russell Premium Member about 7 years ago
As a science-fiction fan, I am very much looking forward to the jobless economy. Ask anybody who holds a job now (let alone 2 or 3 of them to try to make ends meet) how much they like work. Virtually everybody will tell you that they can hardly wait until retirement, assuming they can afford it.
But we can afford it — for virtually everybody! We’re the richest society in the history of the planet, and computers and machines are taking over more and more of the really crappy jobs, so there’s no economic reason why the average worker’s career couldn’t run, say, about 10 years, followed by another 50-60 of leisure and recreation. We just have to persuade all the corporate CEOs to share the obscene amounts of wealth they’re hoarding for themselves.
Masterskrain Premium Member about 7 years ago
Well, DUH!!!
Argy.Bargy2 about 7 years ago
And speaking as someone who was born and raised in Pittsburgh when we still heat our houses by burning coal, and who has cousins with COPD who never smoked one cig: that canary should be coughing…
californicated1 about 7 years ago
The canary is right—automated systems and robots will do most of the work.
And just like the XL Pipeline, once it’s built in a couple of years, all those jobs go away and the economies in the northern Plains States go back to the way they were before the pipeline.
Zev about 7 years ago
That should be a robotic canary.
Motivemagus about 7 years ago
@RICHARD S RUSSELL – As far as SF parallels are concerned, I think I would refer to the first half of James Blish’s They Shall Have Stars, coupled with the first couple of chapters of A Life for the Stars, where he accurately predicted Russian dominance (I keep getting haunted by one particular line, where they comment that the Russians outplayed the West because they did not just play to win, they played to wear down the opponent. “Our moves are precisely like theirs now, and thus wholly predictable.”), and the elimination of jobs for anyone with “an IQ under 120.”
RAGs about 7 years ago
There’s a letter to the editor in today’s paper about how “great” Trump’s executive order is lifting the “energy restrictions” from the CEO of the American Coal Council.
Mr. Blawt about 7 years ago
With the changing landscape of our nations, these coal miners will have to keep up with the necessary skills to learn the new jobs around coal mining. There will be plenty of opportunities to work cleaning up the rivers now that the GOP is in charge again.
Radish the wordsmith about 7 years ago
A little bird told them.
Kip W about 7 years ago
Mine shaft canaries will be out of work too. No more of that Nanny State stuff.
Diane Lee Premium Member about 7 years ago
When Hillary campaigned in coal country, she honestly told them that mining jobs were not coming back, that they were gone not so much because of environmental issues as because those jobs had been automated, and even if more coal was needed, the companies would just buy more machines to mine it. She planned to retrain out of work coal miners for other jobs. Trump campaigned with the same people and told them that coal jobs were coming back and he was a champion of “clean coal”, and would begin working on putting them back to work the day he was elected. Guess who the great majority voted for.