Why would President Trump be in favor of coal when so much has been said about how polluting it is, how dangerous to the environment?

Kano

Trump wants to make America great, Coal is what first lifted the US into a powerful industrial nation, later on oil and added to this great economy. Energy is what makes countries wealthy and prosperous and coal is a cheap form of energy. The US had made great strides forward it's air is cleaner now than 50 years ago, it's rivers no longer so much polluted. Why would you want to drag it down.

vulcan_alex

I have no idea on the president's motives, for myself in the US our grid requires a lot of base load generation, that requires coal or nuclear. We won't build new nuclear so some new advanced coal plants with great pollution controls are a great idea or almost mandatory.

john

Coal industry isn't dying. It's essential for quite a few industries including metals like steel and polyomers like plastics. Trump is in favour of industry so he supports coal. So what? It's dangerous yes but nothing to replace it with. Gasoline is dangerous you still put it in your car.

Frank B

He's in favor for political reasons. The coal mining industry is dying and by supporting it he's garnered a lot of support from the middle class.

wilds_of_virginia

So trump is "out of touch, "a fool," a knave," "idiot," and a "neanderthal." There's your answer. But you requested no nasty remarks. Looks like most of those who have replied are out of touch. Or simply inconsiderate. I'll give you a straight answer. Coal is cheap and readily available. It currently accounts for a significant portion of our electricity generation. We also export around 100,000 tons every year. I don't believe Trump is so much in favor of coal as he is not actively trying to destroy the industry like Obama did. Do a little digging and see what Trump is doing to actively help the coal industry. Other than roll back odious Obama era regulations, not much.

JACKSON870

"Greenhouse"' gas does not increase temperatures. The sun does. In the summer the temperature increases and in the winter the temperature decreases. I have not seen much rise in the maximum temperature of the year in my area (about 100 degrees) and that lasted for like a week this past summer. It is cold at night in December now. There is no global warming that I can feel.

Robert

There is a balance between a healthy economy and green energy. Maybe no one has quite yet found the proper balance, but to cut energy production at the cost of damaging the economy is NOT the answer. If we do that, places like India and China, which have air quality problems for more serious than ours will continue to pollute and manufacture cheaper products

Sting

Well he's either a knave or a fool, he certainly doesn't understand the greenhouse effect and he appears to be financially bound by nobody (except maybe the Russians and Saudis) so I'm going to go with him being an idiot

Kwest

he's out of touch with reality and doesn't understand science

oikoσ

He can get more votes from W Va and KY than he would lose by saying something intelligent.

jean

in some ways he is an neanderthal

Ghost Of Christmas Past

Denial. It's the American way. Trump simply does not believe the experts. On any subject, the USA can produce charlatan experts who claim the opposite of what scientists or economists claim. If you want to believe that the Earth is triangular and the moon is made of green cheese, there is a pseudo-scientific group who agree with you.