I am commenting on a column that appears on your website on June 17 by Gene Lyons: “America gains nothing from denying global warming.”
In his criticism of President Trump’s decision to get out of the Paris Agreement, Gene Lyons dismisses the coal industry as “dirty” and describes the unemployment of coal miners as inevitable by concluding: “it’s going to happen anyway.” This claim is beyond exaggerating because, despite the controversy on coal, it is still a desirable and predictable form of fuel, therefore, it is unlikely for coal miners to be unemployed. Furthermore, Lyons’ went on to inaccurately demonize the coal industry despite the latest statistics from the Department of Labor released in May recorded an increase in mining jobs by a whopping 44,000 since last October, showing that mining is once again thriving in America. Lyon’s claim about coal miners inevitably becoming unemployed is clearly false. There is a rising trend in coal mining employment, which further suggests the rising in coal demand.
Despite the controversy on coal, we can’t deny that clean coal provides an affordable and abundant supply of electricity to many homes and businesses. It is estimated that over “one-third of global electricity is supplied by coal.” So it is irresponsible to falsely make exaggerated claims about climate change to try and close down the industry that allows one-third of global business to thrive.
Tom Harris, Executive Director Internation Climate Science Coalition, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Further edited by Sonyta Bun
