Coal is Losing War to Gas not Obama!

I am not surprised to see the attacks on Obama and the so-called war on coal but it is not Obama that will put coal on the back burner of energy. It is natural gas. No coincedence that coal has been waning as gas has become cheap, clean and abundant. This will continue into the far future so the smart thing for the coal industry is to invest in the gas reserves in this area. Put down the shovels and start drilling. Save lives, save the environment and save America from middle east oil.

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Permalink Reply by Finnbear on November 8, 2012 at 2:28am

I never would suggest that anyone participate in a redistributive system like the fools in this country voted for Tuesday - far from it. Coal has hampered my ability personally to profit from the hydrocarbons beneath my land and I still don't have a good lease signed or bonus money in the bank because of coal - but I'm working on it. That being said, I still understand that coal has its place in the market for a reason - in some processes coal is the most cost effective way to produce power. In places where natural gas best fits the needs of the energy consumer (I'm not talking about the lights in your house here), it should be used. In places where nuclear is a better option, it should be used. Where rivers have energy that can be effectively harnessed, hydroelectric should be utilized - and so on for other energy forms. To let Washington choose the winners in the energy game based on a leftist President's preference for "green" energy is asinine. To say that we should forget about coal and just use natural gas is naive. We need ALL forms of energy available and competing in the marketplace for ALL the dollars that get spent on energy.

Reality check - If you are so worried about maximizing your investments, live in the here and now and invest money in the energy market where profit can be made today instead of hoping that someone will change the rules to make the competition go away so your preferred choice can artificially make all the profit. That "hope & change" bit hasn't worked so well for those of us who actually produce things. You'll have to pay attention though, because what makes money today might not be what works next year and you'll have to "follow the money" to stay on top. Let the market dictate the winners and losers - not Washington.

Permalink Reply by Oliver Perry on November 8, 2012 at 5:28am

Coal fired power plants are great, except for the people that live down wind from them!!

Permalink Reply by Finnbear on November 8, 2012 at 6:13am

We all live somewhere downwind and they are far better today than they were in the past.

Permalink Reply by Josh Willis on November 8, 2012 at 8:42am

thats going to be great, but what happens when the liberal president wants to get rid of the "new energy source" because fracking bad. Why cant we have a balanced energy plan, natural gas, coal, nuclear,oil, renewables? Crazy idea huh. America thrives on cheap energy. Why chain ourself to one energy source. By having multiple sources of energy it keeps prices in check. If the price of Natural gas suddenly skyrockets, some people will benefit, but the economy as a whole would suffer if that was our only source. All of the gains of a few would be offset by the higher cost of consumer goods.

Permalink Reply by Oliver Perry on November 8, 2012 at 7:43am

Finnbear, I'm sure you realize I meant closely downwind. Would you say you wouldn't mind having one as your upwind neighbor? I doubt it.

Permalink Reply by Finnbear on November 8, 2012 at 12:32pm

I have a small coal plant a few miles away right now.

Permalink Reply by Gary L on November 8, 2012 at 4:46pm

Look at all the railroad mergers through out the years. They all had to get government approval so there wouldn't be any type of monopoly. There are now four major class I railroads and they government says that's it, no more mergers. We will never see a transcontinental railroad because of tariffs and rates. There has to be a competitive factor to keep costs in line. If there wasn't, one railroad would become a monopoly and charge what ever they wanted. Same goes for pipelines, Rockies Express had to be sold before they could buy out El Paso Pipeline per the Federal Trade Commission. You just can't become a monopoly and control the market. I think the same will happen to the energy industry.

In Ohio years ago, the laws were written in favor of the coal versus gas and oil back when they

were both being purchased or leased together. Coal always took precedence over gas and oil. That's why we are having a conflict today with ODNR. Laws can be written to supersede existing laws and I am sure

they will be able to work things out for the gas and oil business. I think there should be a balance in the energy industry. Coal contracts with customers are written years into the future and when you factor all the jobs lost not only to miners, railroaders, machinery manufactures, maintenance laborers, and the list goes on, it would cause quite a stir. I would like to get the most out of my land also, but you have to be realistic. Don't get me wrong, I am in favor of the gas and oil, but you can't let the pendulum swing too far in one direction.   

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