The War on Coal - What is the Future of Coal and Cumberland Mine?

[@PlanetMojo]

Great video Dave! One thing about nuclear: the nuclear plants in America are all very old, and of the obsolete water cooled design. If they overheat they create hydrogen which is very explosive. Fourth generation liquid nuclear reactors use molten salt instead of water to transfer heat from fission, removing the possibility of dangerous hydrogen production which makes them incredibly safe (and they don't have to be located next to water!). I agree about using a mix of everything we have, and believe the war on coal is very shortsighted. 😐

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you Mojo for the excellent information.

[@buillioncubes]

Just doing the armchair research on nuclear power plants, it appears that a majority of the major nuclear accidents occurred due to human error. Regardless of the safety of the plant design, humans tend to be unreliable.

[@jenniferwhitewolf3784]

salt cooled reactors are safer when operating.... but the disposition of spent fuel and reactor parts that require safe storage for thousands of years remains unchanged.

[@PlanetMojo]

@@jenniferwhitewolf3784 It actually does change. MSR's reuse less fuel to start with, and can burn the waste fuel from other reactors. We have storage solutions for the minimum amount of waste that they do produce that we don't use because of politics.

[@Gitbizy]

The problem is nobody will allow a nuclear power plant to be built. A freak accident like the Japanese plant destroyed in a tsunami shouldn’t have much to do with plants in the USA. But lately it seems like politicians want to take the most absurd route to get energy. Such as don’t drill, frack or mine in the USA and instead buy from Russia or Venezuela.. .we have millions of acres in Nevada far from towns where nuclear waste could be safely stored, but that’s not good enough. It’s all very depressing and makes me wonder what things will be like when my kids are our ages. Seems like things will be more like the flintstones than the jetsons in 30 years..

[@aneal3445]

I live 4 miles from a nuclear power plant and 6 miles from a large coal plant. The energy company that owns both does a great job at keeping the community informed about every little thing that happens at the nuclear plant. I do feel safe living next to it. They also made large investments in bringing the coal plant up to current regulations. I think both forms of energy creation have their downsides but are important for the diversification of the grid. The solar farm and wind turbine factory down the road also have a place. I don’t see coal going away anytime soon though. 👍

[@rearspeaker6364]

coal power plants create jobs and help the economy, Esp. thru depressions.

[@PrenticeBoy1688]

I don't think I'd like to live so close to a nuclear power plant. The possibility of things going awry very quickly, and very spectacularly is to great for my liking. This raises an important point, though. There's no such thing as 'clean energy'. Reliable, efficient and sufficient energy production is a dirty business. Technological advancements make it less dirty, but it's still a dirty business. So-called 'green energy' makes great tweet fodder, but it just isn't practical yet. We don't have the technology to do it as so many politicians claim.

[@tootired76]

Becker, Minnesota?? Numbnut Governor Tim Walz signed into law all energy must be green by 2035. Rolling black-outs coming soon to your neighborhood!

[@PrenticeBoy1688]

@@tootired76 Brilliant strategy to simultaneously reduce your carbon footprint and reduce poverty rates. Should be good for the local economy, too. All the local crematoria will need to take on more staff.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts Alicia. Excellent comment and I'm pleased you feel safe. With new technology on nuclear safety I think I had not taken that into consideration in my movie. We need more energy plant owners like the one you guys have. Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.

[@erict5234]

When I hired on with the railroad in 2003, we ran approximately 140 trains a day out of the Powder River basin. That number is now averaging around 35 trains a day. As you mentioned, Dave, Obama's coal regulations have had a big impact on that. However, the truth of the whole story isn't being told... Both political parties are to blame. The US coal industry is not dying entirely due to regulations... The cheap, abundant supply of natural gas here in the US is also a result of Fracking. It is just a good business decision to switch to gas if you are a utility. Our biggest utility here in WI (2nd biggest customer in US for my railroad ) has shut down several coal fired plants and switched to natural gas, and it has very little to do with emissions regulations... natural gas cost savings over coal is what is really killing the US market. Oh yeah... We still are getting NS trains yet with Bailey coal periodically too!

[@johnbigelson7471]

Well that and we've never really had the nuclear count that they have down in the southern states, I'm not even sure if point beach or Kewaunee is still running..

[@northernliving2387]

Thanks for the update Dave.. Did you guys ever fix your link system on your locomotive?

[@tsufordman]

The coal trains are few and far between in central Texas too, because they can't compete with subsidized wind and cheap natural gas. I was working a contract job for a coal mine that was planning an expansion, and they got their pink slips (30 day notices) and they were closed because the powerplant they were feeding closed almost overnight.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts Eric. I agree with you and did say in the movie that natural gas prices were cheap enough to take over some of the coal plants. But also as long as we are in the Paris Accord, coal for electric power generation will continue to be phased out. Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.

[@animenut69]

Imo fracking needs to end since It destabilizes the ground and fuels earthquake activity

[@redforman1648]

I read an article about a green energy producer in Wyoming that has been applying for permits to build a cross country electric transmission line to California or maybe the Las Vegas area for the last 20 years and they say the process will take at least another 5 years. 25 years just for permits...bureaucracy at its finest!

[@shopshop144]

Nobody likes regulations until some outfit wants to put a pipe line in their backyard. Then they become believers.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts Red. Regulations and permitting are killers, took us 6 years to get permitting to build a new slate dump. It's crazy. Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.

[@retrozmachine1189]

There's two broad classes of coal, thermal and metalurgic. Renewables will eventually reach the point where they start to chew into thermal but if the vast amounts of coal being dug up in the east of Australia is anything to go by that will take some time. Metalurgic coal, that's going to be thing for a long long time. So long as we want steel, we'll be using metalurgic coal. The green alternatives there just don't stack up.

[@jenniferbutcher8393]

Hard to make steel with sunshine and wind, huh?! 😄

[@6582rg]

Agree

[@rearspeaker6364]

and in the west of Australia there is iron ore for those steel plants in china.

[@agy234]

Good point not a lot of people think about that part

[@frenchcreekvalley]

So long as we want steel, we'll be using metalurgic coal. The green alternatives there just don't stack up. Totally agree. Most of the greenies don't have the slightest idea about THAT issue. ----Or that aluminum takes a lot of "juice" to produce.

[@6582rg]

I agree we need to capitalize on the resources God gave us while advancing renewable energy as technology improves. I do support nuclear power. Open the Keystone Pipeline. It's hard to NOT talk politics when responding to you talking about the results of politics. Thanks for the content.

[@CheaddakerT.Snodgrass]

Nuclear yes

[@shopshop144]

Keystone is to pipe oil from the Canadian sand deposits, dirty stuff start to finish. Let Canada deal with it

[@mikeznel6048]

@@CheaddakerT.Snodgrass You ever see what happens with spent nuclear fuel?

[@royreynolds108]

@@mikeznel6048 I would like you to elaborate on the actual and factual details of the end of life of spent nuclear fuel if you can do so in the same manner as Dave. No hysterics or outlandish claims, etc Be true academic about the discourse, factual and truthful.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you TTB for the really great comment. You are right and also I know it is hard when the energy industry is so controlled by political powers. I just didn't want this to get into a presidential debate, nothing good comes from that in a video comment section except a lot of hard feelings. Keystone is entirely political, just look at who hauls train after train of oil out of there and who owns BNSF and who gave millions of contributions to campaigns, nuff said bout that. Appreciate your visiting with us and checking out the video my friend.

[@johnl8996]

Excellent thoughts on your mind here today, Dave. It was actually quite refreshing to hear your opinions on our energy futures and past (as in, how did we get here?). Your insight is spot on. Take care, Sir!

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for the nice comment John, glad you enjoyed. Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.

[@Trollemharder]

I agree on needing more power, but you lost me on the Nuclear humor.

[@ccrx6700]

I was just cracking a bit of a sarcastic joke on the nuclear industry d fobroy, no deep hidden meaning, just a bit of levity in an otherwise serious video. Thank you for taking the time to watch and write in my friend.

[@alanswafford9964]

Thank you Dave. A great educational video with a tremendous amount of valuable information. And presented in a non biased way. I wish everyone in this country could hear it.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for the kind words Alan, glad you enjoyed. Appreciate your taking the time to check out the future of coal video and write in my friend.

[@BryanTorok]

Dave, you did a pretty good job of covering the political side of the issue without getting too offensive to either side, just stating the facts. It is good to know that the coal industry will survive and there will be jobs, even if it means we are exporting the coal. BUT, it is a shame we are going to impoverish our economy and our people and starve them for energy when we have huge abundant resources under our feet. The info on transmission lines is amazing. The Green people want to push everyone into an EV when we don't have the grid or local infrastructure to support charging all those vehicles.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for the kind words I'm Me. All of your comment was very well stated. Appreciate your taking the time to check out the future of coal video and write in my friend.

[@shopshop144]

You're a brave man to step into this discussion! I think its important to remember that those regulations don't just pop into existence for no reason at all. Few people are willing to go back to the good old days when smoke stacks pumping out black smoke and soot were a sign of progress, so how clean do we want our environment and who gets to make those decisions, and what factors are part of the equation. Personally I think that for coal to be a on going industry in this country either the industry has to find a way to burn coal and get rid of the byproducts in a way that is as clean as natural gas, or the country has to be willing to accept a certain amount of air and water pollution. If natural gas is that much less expensive, how is coal going to retain a place in the market? Its depressing to hear that China is building 92% of all new coal plants. Its not that they are a poor country anymore (thanks to our desire for cheap poorly made stuff) I hear they are concerned because their pollution is affecting the general level of health and the ability to grow their economy, so maybe their new coal burning plants are cleaner than what they were building in the recent past. We don't have to buy from them if we don't like the way they do business. We have the freedom to say no.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you shop shop for sharing your thoughts, very good comment. Some excellent points you have made and you are right. Appreciate your taking the time to watch the video and write in. May you have a most blessed day my friend.

[@petesopenrailsvideos]

Interesting to get an "inside" view of coal in the US. Here in Australia our coal exports are expected to continue to grow to meet demand in Asia while (ironically) our coal fired power stations have been closed in favour of "clean" energy which is now costing us WAY more than we were previously paying for coal based power and is not nearly as dependable. Our natural gas supplies are next on the "green hit list". It's a total head-scratcher to be rich in natural resources only to have politicians deciding it is only an export option and not for domestic use. I'm all for renewable/clean energy, but when it's costing you an arm and leg compared to "dirty" energy, you have to wonder what's going on.

[@dennisb-trains23]

Same with our oil in the U S.. we have plenty here but government says to export it.

[@parteibonza]

you have similar problems with your government. destroying your economy and sucking your natural resources and selling them off to china and india, and the insider CEOs and mega institutional investors profit. All those private jets flying to Davos have agreed to put this plan into action. They don't just want money, they want power and they want you so poor that you sell yourself into slavery to your government.

[@yogibarista2818]

Australia's electricity prices are a result of a regulation system that allows producers to demand (blackmail) for maintenance costs of aging infrastructure, not cost of running new infrastructure. With the phasing out of that older high-maintenance equipment those same companies are now declaring a sudden doubling of earnings, suggesting that prices are significantly higher than they should be for the newer infrastructure.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts Down Under Open Rails and we appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend. It certainly is a head scratcher! Same thing here.

[@williamswindle5445]

There are pits and mines here in Alabama that were wide open a year ago that are shut down now and all the equipment is being sold at auction. I hope it can come back.

[@12time12]

Not going to happen when gas is far cheaper to extract and burns cleaner. No concerns about sulfur dioxide and mercury content. The only coal that will still exist is metallurgical for coke production.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on that Bill. Coal traffic is down, and if the Paris Accord keeps going coal train traffic will decrease even more. Appreciate your visiting with us and checking out the video my friend.

[@12time12]

@@ccrx6700 not sure it’s the Paris accord tbh, it’s the cheap and freely available natural gas that doesn’t require extensive scrubbing for sulfur dioxide and mercury the latter of which is highly toxic. Burns a lot cleaner so is easier/cheaper maintenance overall, is piped all over the country so no need to worry about transport. Unfortunately it’s just the economics that makes thermal coal untenable, especially with new pipelines going in under the infrastructure program.

[@ccrx6700]

@@12time12 👍😊

[@nmccw3245]

My EV is heavily reliant on coal for power.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for sharing that NMCCW. Saw an NS coal hopper car that had painted on it: This is fuel for electric cars....:-) Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.

[@beverlymichael5830]

We have so many resources in our land to continue to supply us with low cost energy. My hometown was home to Ball Brothers who came because of the gas boom. I am a believer of natural gas and coal and oil resources we have. We can be energy independent. The county next to me has approved wind energy and it has ruined the landscape. Half the time the wind turbines are not even turning. Solar was coming to my county but people stood up against it. All of the farm land we would lose for crops if they came. So far they have put on hold because citizens stood up against it. I found evidence of a gas well that was on my property and matched up with a old map Very cool. I support our natural Resources. Great video Dave.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts Beverly in a very well thought out and kind way. Youa re right about our abundance of resources. Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.

[@bigun447]

An old acquaintance who owned it (now dead and his heirs were not interested in running it) and I were sitting at one of his fuel stations that had a Burger King as part of it. He was crying about the rules on underground fuel storage. "it is going to put gas stations out of business". That was when I pointed out to him that ALL gasoline stations had to live by the same rules so yes some will go out of business. However, the need for vehicle fuel is ever-increasing and you as a remaining distributor with a chain of gas outlets will have to pick up the slack. Plus you have a convenience store in every one of your outlets. You make more money on a loaf of bread, candy, chips and other items than you do on selling gasoline or diesel. So John, why are you crying? A very few years later a small town had people complaining about gasoline fumes in their part of town. They were coming from the sewers. The amount of fumes was very high. The Fire Department using their meters to look at the levels followed the raise back to the offending gasoline station. Guess what? It was one of his stations. They had been noticing that the gauged amount of fuel being pumped from the tank did not equal the amount of fuel being metered at the pumps. The station manager just figured one of the pumps was not metering correctly. The offending tank was found, pumped empty, and the search for the leak was hunted. The tanks were in a vault so any tank leakage could be seen but there was none. The boreholes that were located around the location did show gasoline was in the ground. Long story short, when they built the outlet they used a track hoe to tear the houses on the site. In the process, they cut a clay tile sewer line going to one of the old houses and a leak happened in the inner fuel line because the outer fuel line was leaking allowing both the safety outer line and the inner fuel from the tank pumps to leak and that leak simply migrated to the unknown sewer line. His insurance company paid a pretty penny for the mitigation of the leak. But that is what he had been paying his large insurance amount for all of his stations. They tore up the concrete drive, removed the soil around the leak, sealed the sewer line, replaced the fuel lines, and did business for a couple of weeks with a lime and limestone driveway until all checked out. Then they put in the new concrete driveway. The moral of the story is that even stringent safety standards can fail. No business pays taxes or pays for required by-law items. It is the final customer that pays those taxes and required fixes. If your neighbor's business fails because they choose not to invest in what is required to stay in business, then your business has a perfect chance of selling more products to those who want to buy them at the price that is making a profit and also paying for the added expenses. An old coach said to us at halftime when we all were complaining about fouls being called very tightly. His comment was "As long as both teams are getting fouls called on them just like you guys, then you cannot complain, only play smarter."

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts Big un, you've said a mouthful. And appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.

[@ericschmidt7359]

A friend had the fuel oil tanks at his business found to be leaking. The government put him out of business, new Jersey only got 5 dump trucks of contaminated soil.

[@mikeenssle7259]

Dave I've been following probably since last year. I love coming home from work kicking my feet up and listening to you. You're very knowledgeable. I love trains and railroading and I'm still learning stuff by watching your videos. I also agree keep the political crap out of it. Keep the videos coming thanks Dave!

[@dennisb-trains23]

Amen Mike!

[@ccrx6700]

Wow Mike what a totally awesome thing to say.... I'm blushing! Your words are very special to me and what a great uplift after today's hard day on the RR. That was so thoughtful of you to write in with your kind words. Thank You so much my friend.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you Dennis

[@dezertraider]

I THANK YOU DAVID..I STILL HOPING TO GET 3 PALLETS OF ANTHRACITE COAL FOR MY WINTER HEAT.ITS BE BACK BREAKING TO TRY TO MACH COAL BTU WITH SAY PELLETS OF WOOD..CRAZY..STAY AWESOME DAVE

[@ccrx6700]

Your welcome Ralph, glad you enjoyed. Sure hope you have better luck this year than last! Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.

[@joanieswanson570]

Coal in my home county of Indiana are mined out. Coal seams end - they are not infinite. There are cleaner ways to burn coal for energy, but they are expensive. Look at your state environmental laws - that’s a key factor. Every state is different about local and state taxes. I agree with Dave that we have to look at all energy sources to be a viable world contender. It’s a many faceted issue and not just one thing. Everything needs scrutiny. Keep safe out there.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts Joanie, very well thought out and sensible comment. Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.

[@nerd3d-com]

Speaking to the lack of transmission lines. The grand irony is that environmentalist legislation is blocking the construction of new power distribution necessary for renewables to be practical. Arco Solar actually dismantled a PV installation because they couldn't get approval to install new transmission lines to the facility. This was in California Valley a few years back. The same activists blocked the construction of new transmission in the area of Tehachapi Pass and Mojave which held up wind and solar projects in that area for decades. It's one thing to be an environmentalist but blocking environmental improvements to protect the environment is ... well this is a civil comments section so make up your own descriptive metaphors.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts Nard3Ddotcom. That does seem very strange, the article did not state why the new lines were not being built. But as long as we are in the Paris Accord, coal for electric power generation will continue to be phased out. Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.

[@jasonoliver5388]

Dave it's not just your railroad it's every railroad. CSX coal trains are down from where they was a few years ago.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on that Jason. Coal traffic is down, and if the Paris Accord keeps going coal train traffic will decrease even more. Appreciate your visiting with us and checking out the video my friend.

[@jackdawg4579]

I think that here in Australia, coal mines with high quality coking coal will survive in the short term, probably 10 to 15 years at least. Those that produce poor quality brown coal, well if they are still open, their days are numbered. Their product is only used for domestic use and we are currently in the middle of shutting down our worst polluting coal fired power stations. All our coal fired power plants will be gone in 15 years, coal will only be mined for export, and as the world changes and the demand drops, it will only be the most efficient coal mines that continue.

[@shopshop144]

What's the difference if Australian coal is burned in China/India/etc. or in Australia? We all breath the same air.

[@ferstuck37]

Thanks Dave for the articles on the concrete verses wood sleepers informative, I think electric companies in this country have neglected their power transmission lines! But as long as it’s standing great! Power plants that burn coal can use scrubbers/😢bag-houses and electrostatic precipitators it adds to the cost plus you have to find a place to. dump the residue..we dumped it down old mines! if we ignore Nuclear power amongst other methods coal will continue newer PPs would be more efficient and cleaner. The UK used to get very good coal from underground they shut that down, 600 dollars a ton is crazy.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts Jack. As long as we (USA) are in the Paris Accord, coal for electric power generation will continue to be phased out. I don't know if you guys are or not but guessing yes. Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.

[@GarnettM]

Hi Dave that Cat 9T is the identical one I've operated at a Wood chip paper mill for 8 yrs Great Job These politician's are gonna be the demise of regular society today don't mess with what works ,The whole world has to change for the better or nothing will change Besides how many times has the planet froze and thawed thru eons we the people are a spec of dust of what can happen if the planet folded over.😮

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts Garnett and we appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend. that Cat had some major issues in the past, last one the track tensioner cylinder came out of it, that was a mess, got some video of it but don't know when I will show it.

[@georgew.5639]

I’m with you on supplying the energy needs of our country. Green and renewable energy will not meet our energy needs. We need other sources of energy too. I also need to add that coal fired power plants do not pollute the environment like they did in the past. 99% of polluting emissions are removed from the exhaust. Gypsum is one of the byproducts of burning coal. Gypsum is used to make wallboard. Wallboard is used to construct the walls in most homes and offices etc.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you George for the very good comment, you are so right, coal fired plants are in no way polluting now like they used to. However there is a global agenda fueled by world powers that have the belief that coal for power generation is dirty and must go. Sad.... Thank you for taking the time to watch and write in my friend.

[@KittyKarenpoo]

Well, dream on. Nope, coal is the dirtiest fuel we have. Period. As for the bad thinking about how we'll need all these fuel sources, that's a non starter. When we support alternative fuels we don't undo coal. Coal undoes itself because it stops being competitive without the heavy hand of government shifting subsidies toward it. If coal was still needed, it would still be mined. The subsidy for coal/oil/gas was 5.9 TRILLION dollars, last year, according to the IMF (which should know). That is 130 TIMES as much as the subsidy for alternative fuels (all costs).

[@mundayoreo]

Its one thing to say that coal fired plants are cleaner than before but is that true for those in China and India? Do you think those countries and even Russia care about the Paris Accord?

[@sharkey086]

I have to agree Dave, we need ALL forms of energy. Nuclear is one that is looking to make a comeback. We cannot rely entirely on fossil fuels, wind and solar. They can only do so much. We need to be open to supplement our needs by any given form. Especially with the ever increasing demands on our electric grid with the push for more electric vehicles.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for the great comment sharkey. No one fuel will be able to supply all our needs, and after reading many comments am feeling better now about nuclear, you are right, it is needed also. Appreciate your taking the time to check out the future of coal video and write in my friend.

[@TriGogglin]

Alot of great information in this one Dave.. coal and oil will always be king, I do like wind energy but it comes with its own set of problems no one wants to talk about. But as you said it's all for not if their not building the transmission lines to get the power out. Liked you reading while watching the train. Good stuff. Remember to always keep it on the tracks Dave.. 😂

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for the very nice comment Pappy. Unfortionately tho coal fired power plant in US will be phased out. Not so in other countries. Wind is great, but when the wind stops blowing.... at least when that happens and the blades don't turn, no more birds will vanish....LOL LOL Thank you for taking the time to watch and write in my friend.

[@kg4muc]

I’m with you all the way💯. My father in law worked underground as a roof bolter and would have worked at it till he died. They brought him out in 1980 because of heart problems. We also had a cousin killed in the Big Branch Explosion. I’m in agreement about naming parties as that only causes hard feelings most of the time. But I’ll help you wave the flag!

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you Wayne for writing in with the awesome comment. Big branch, they should have put blankenship in prison for life, don't get me started on that..... I'm very sorry your cousin had the misfortune to be there. Appreciate your taking the time to check out the video and may you have a most blessed day my friend.

[@andreweppink4498]

An excellent vid, tho l'm in emphatic disagreement with him re fission. My thot is coal usage should continue. But only in modern hi efficiency ultrasupercritical units, with all the belIs and whistles, e.g. triple reheat, the highest throttle inlet temps, reheat/intercept valve temps, condenser circulating water/cooling loop reject heat stream usage - Stirling engines, building heating, greenhouses (Stack CO2 there also), fish farms, you name it, etc. etc. And talk is cheap. NO more old subcritical 35% thermal efficiency HHV dino's.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts Andrew and we appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend. I do say my thoughts on nuclear were biased by a few incidents way in the past and I did not take into consideration the new safety and engineering they have now, I stand corrected.

[@Cianan-vw1lb]

Wind (lack thereof) and solar (night and weather) also require storage that hasn't been built out. I'm not enthusiastic about fission power for your reasons. The cost of liability insurance halted development there for quite a while after Three MIle Island but it's fighting to make a come back. I do hope we figure out fusion. ITER's approach is crazy expensive. Progress by others continues to be mostly hype. A lot of work has been done to make coal fired energy cleaner. Plant here had state of the art scrubbers before they changed over to natural gas. City forced them to close. Very disappointed about that. Appreciate your videos.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you Cianan-vw for sharing your thoughts and for checking out the video . May you have a most blessed day my friend.

[@davidperry970]

Free market, lower or zero reguations. Energy independence. Coal,oil & nuke ok with me. Drill babby drill.

[@ccrx6700]

The natural gas industry around here is what you say, drill baby drill, it's still going nuts here after 12 years of steady drilling David. New pipeline construction is keeping pace with the new wells. Natural gas prices went up but are now on their way back down to compete with coal. Thank you for the nice comment and for taking the time to watch and write in my friend.

[@seven8n235]

Hi Dave, I disagree with you on nuclear. It is essential to our baseload power. The technology is safe although not risk less. Solar and wind are not "renewables" they are "replaceables" as they need to be upgraded or replaced after a number of years. They use huge amounts of resources to replace and dispose of. Saw a story in the UK Telegraph that coal fired power plants had to be fired up due to hot weather that solar could not keep up with. In my area of virginia still fighting over completing the mountain valley pipeline. We need it badly! But...politics, yuck.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts seven8n2. You do make some valid points. After many comments and some research I have realized my biased opinion of nuclear was only based on the couple of problems that happened in the past. I should not have been so hasty in my judgements. Appreciate your checking out the video and writing in my friend.

[@Flyby-1000]

I think Nuclear would be fine. As with all technology, we are continuously learning especially from our mistakes and how negate them for future operations. Just think about that. If we didn't move forward after learning from mistakes in my industry, aviation, and all the disasters that have happened over time, it would still take days to travel the country / world instead of hours...

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts Flyby, excellent comment. You do make some valid points. After many comments and some research I have realized my biased opinion of nuclear was only based on the couple of problems that happened in the past. I should not have been so hasty in my judgements. Appreciate your checking out the video and writing in my friend.

[@boe4448]

Dave, I really enjoyed your insight on the energy industry. Also no political banter, it gets us nowhere. The bottom line would be good to get a happy medium for environmental concerns and industry/jobs etc. Boe

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for the nice comment Boe. You are totally right, happy medium is the best route to go, hopefully that can happen, but we need good thinking folks like you to make decisions. Appreciate your checking out the video and writing in my friend.

[@fyt54321]

Natural gas is cheaper than coal for energy production. This is the main reason power companies build new natural gas power plants, in addition to lesser and cleaner emissions. Free market capitalism drives everything. Coal demand continues to decline as natural evolution of energy production in free markets.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts fyt. As long as we are in the Paris Accord, coal for electric power generation will continue to be phased out. Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.

[@terryrobertson8382]

You hit the nail on the head, we need the whole mix of energy sources to meet the present and coming demand. I would also like to say that the rush toward electric vehicles is a fantasy, it will not work for 50 to 100 years. I drive a hybrid vehicle and think it is a good compromise between gas only and electric and there should be much more R&D going into them.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts Terry. You are right, hybrids are the best of both worlds. Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.

[@dougdoeright4196]

Dave you and I both grew up when the coal industry had little to no regulations to being to far under the thumb for profitability. Growing Up south of Youngstown OH. I remember a day when everyone burned coal for heat and the natural gas lines didnt even have grass growing over the new trenches. There where days that the odor would choke a horse with the smell of burning coal from houses to the manufacture of coke in Struthers OH. Strip mines doted the entire area and before the land reclamation act came to pass those scars of a time gone by are still there if you know where to look. To much regulation is bad but no regulation is even worse. Just think the miners who died at the Blair Mountain WV about no regulation. With luck and proper updating youll be mining coal for a long time but I for one don't miss that distinct smell.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for the awesome comment Doug. I do well remember the smell of coke ovens and the orangish glow in the sky in the evenings from them in the 1960's. Some gas pipelines were not even buried here, just laying on the ground. Tons of unregulated strip mines here also. You are so right in your thoughts, about how it used to be before regulation. Appreciate your taking the time to check out the future of coal video and write in my friend.

[@mikeashely8198]

Solar and wind power Farms don't last long how much do you think every five or ten years ago to replace all that stuff

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts Mike. You are right and what about the cost to get rid of all those old farm equipment, it's huge. Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.

[@richardbrobeck2384]

Dave Thank you for the great video My relations worked in a Coal mine in washington state back in the day !

[@ccrx6700]

Your very welcome Richard. Thank You for taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.

[@frenchcreekvalley]

Very interesting. At our west central Wisconsin's REA coop's annual meeting in April of this year, I asked (pointedly) where the NEW energy to power all those electric cars was going to come from, but didn't get a very good answer (even though I had prepared them ahead of time). But in their monthly newsletter, which I received just yesterday, they did say that any shortfalls in other forms of energy would be filled in with coal. By the way, us blacksmiths (hobbyist that I am, anyway) do use the "metalurgical grade" (Pocahontas, for example) coal that you mention. It sure is getting hard to get.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts Frenchcreekvalley. You are right, where is the power going to come from?. Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.

[@frenchcreekvalley]

@@ccrx6700 You are welcome. By the way, I'm one of those guys who likes the idea of making short pieces of track into blacksmith anvils. Is it still true that 141# rail is the heaviest that is used in the USA?

[@ccrx6700]

@@frenchcreekvalley 141 yep 👍😊

[@opieshomeshop]

Yep. This is certainly a hot button issue. We're being pushed in a certain direction, and I guess that's all I should say about that lest I anger the YT g-ds. It is good to be more efficient with how coal is burned and we have come a long way in that dept. Coal fired plants are extremely efficient compared to just a hundred years ago. When you compare the mining practices in the US to that of china, holy cow. No comparison. China is a huge mess. And I don't see any angry 13 year olds calling out china. The miners have a huge fatality rate as well. Not only from mine accidents but the older miners get black lung and all kinds of medical issues, and they die before they get to old age. There is also a push in the media all of a sudden on how great nuclear is and how safe and perfect it is. And I'm thinking this world has really bumped its head. Nuclear is a pandoras box this planet should have never opened. Nothing safe about it. And yes, Chernobyl and Fukushima should be all that's needed to prove that nuclear is NOT the answer to anything. Renewables...... Uhg... Never mind. Another trip down the rabbit hole. And this is kind of why I joke around like I do. If you ever watched MASH, it's the same kind of thing. It's a detachment mechanism to cope with all the insanity going on. The characters in MASH cope with war in their own odd crazy ways and I do the same thing. Reality is getting too insane. What really angers me, is we have the capability to have a paradise on earth. But greed and evil stands in the way. And we could have it without all the pandoras boxes we have pried open. In any case, good video and tell your bosses I gave you the next 2 weeks off with pay. 😆🤣

[@ccrx6700]

Wow David what a totally awesome comment! First loved the MASH reasoning, I understand and like that. Excellent observation about that certain paid actor young lady.... really makes you wonder doesn't it. Rabbit hole trips can be scary and fun, depends on your perspective when you're down there.....:-) We could talk all night my friend, and someday hope to get to meet up with you.

[@opieshomeshop]

@@ccrx6700 Thanks mate. Have a good weekend.

[@jeffreygosselin7576]

17:30 The track closest to the building….. is that a run-around track?

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you Jeffrey for taking the time to watch the video and write in. That is a siding track going into the shop. May you have a most blessed day my friend.

[@kevinpoore5626]

I'm not political but I can be a little religious God gave us everything to you that means coal too

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for the nice comment Kevin. God gave us politicians too and even said, pray for your leaders whether you like them or not.... Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.

[@bradolsen8629]

Thank you sir you are a very joyful human being. Love your videos.

[@ccrx6700]

Your welcome Brad. Thanks for the nice comment. Appreciate your taking the time to check out the video and write in my friend.

[@alancleland803]

Having worked at Coal-fired plants, Natural Gas-fired plants, and Nuclear plants, and living in an area that is installing huge solar-generation stations, I have a somewhat unique perspective on the issue of long term energy solutions. Our local Power Company built about 50 miles of *NEW* transmission lines to tie the 2 new local Solar Farms into the main grid. Let me start with what I see as the biggest drawbacks to each. Solar first: Slow to implement with available space being a major hurdle in more urban locals. Natural Gas: The environmental damage caused to our groundwater supply due to Fracking is a huge issue. Coal: The long term sustainability issue causes me grave concerns. You just told us about the worldwide increased demand. Coal is a finite resource and some of the environmental issues like CO2 emissions and mining techniques are detrimental to the ecological future of the world. Nuclear: The inherent dangers of letting the genie out of the bottle go without saying. Now, the benefits of them all. Solar: The future of new technology and better paying jobs, along with the neutral effect on the environment. Gas: A cheaper alternative to Coal, and the existing infrastructure to help utilize the readily available supplies. Not as clean as Solar, but better than Coal and Nuclear. Coal: Again, a massive infrastructure in place to take advantage of the existing known deposits. Nuclear: The best option for creating massive amounts of energy from existing facilities. Fuel disposal notwithstanding. In my opinion, all 4 of the above, along with Hydro-Electric Power, and Wind Farms, play an important role in meeting the world's ever increasing energy demands. I am not in favor of shuttering any of these methods, but I do tend to gravitate towards the Nuclear option as the best option over the next 50 or so years. Beyond that, Wind & Solar seem to be the surest bet for long range sustainability. I don't mean to step on anyone's toes, just offer my opinions based upon real life experiences.

[@madmax2069]

And not to mention coal ash, coal ash is some pretty nasty stuff. I haven't been a fan of coal fired power plants ever since what happened in southern Ohio.

[@NinjaAgnostic]

What happened in southern Ohio?

[@madmax2069]

@@NinjaAgnostic just research Cheshire Ohio and you'll have your answer. Not to mention their coal ash ponds

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts Alan. Awesome totally awesome comment. You did an excellent job at comparing those and your words were so true. Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.

[@smokeyyunick2675]

Your statements were most reasonable and appropriate. All is good! I’m “on board”..choo choo!

[@ccrx6700]

Appreciate the nice comment Smokey. Glad to have you on board with us. Thank you for taking the time to watch and write in my friend.

[@billreal76]

That's GREAT to hear, Dave! So glad you keep us updated with the real facts on the ground, away from the bureaucracy.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for the kind words Bill, glad you enjoyed. Appreciate your taking the time to check out the future of coal video and write in my friend.

[@douglas9220]

Dave your totally correct and I fully agree with resources.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for the kind words Douglas. Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.

[@Arkay315]

I think coal is too important to make steel and generate electricity, I don't think coal is going anywhere fast.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts Arkay. Also remember as long as we are in the Paris Accord, coal for electric power generation will continue to be phased out. It is a legally binding agreement among countries. Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.

[@Gitbizy]

Disagree on the nuclear front. Nuclear energy is very clean and modern usa technology is very safe. I would have zero issue with a nuclear plant going into Westmoreland county. I don’t like that we’re getting rid of so much cheap coal energy. Sad to see Hatfield go, and really sad to see Homer City go.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts Gitbizy. You do make some valid points. After many comments and some research I have realized my biased opinion of nuclear was only based on the couple of problems that happened in the past. I should not have been so hasty in my judgements. Appreciate your checking out the video and writing in my friend.

[@Gitbizy]

@@ccrx6700 thank you too. Btw we share the same BD. I am for clean cheap USA energy. And for lots of jobs mining coal, in the energy sector building pipelines, moving goods via railroads etc. Now that I’m thinking of it, did you ever see trains on the WM run from frostburg to connellsville? I was around 7 when the last train went through ohiopyle. And was really sad to see connellsville remove the WM trestles through town.

[@ccrx6700]

@The Real Gitbizy guy I work with dad was engineer for WM on that run. He now big RR in sky

[@jimpokorny4598]

📢Great video Dave. 📢Thank You 🚂

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for the kind words Jim, glad you enjoyed. Appreciate your taking the time to check out the future of coal video and write in my friend.

[@TheLocutus70]

Dave 2024. 😂

[@ccrx6700]

LOL that cracked me up M..... Thanks for the great big chuckle you gave me tonight. If Cumberland RR didn't really need me I might consider it, but far less BS here to deal with. Thank you for taking the time to watch and write in my friend.

[@aleu650]

Very educational video, I liked the content and the "background music"🙂 too. I agree with you on the dangers of traditional nuclear power (fission). The damages that this technology causes, in case of failure, are PERMANENT. The future of civilized society depends almost exclusively on being able to solve the technical issues and run a commercial fusion reactor.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts aleu, glad you enjoyed the "music" :-) Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.

[@wtfbuddy1]

Interesting dynamics in the energy industry, like most industries there are ups and downs, glad you put that disclaimer out Dave. Two things I learned long ago, don't talk politics or religion at the dinner table, opinions are like bum holes, everyone has one. Cheers and stay safe my friend.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for the nice comment Pete, tried to keep politics out of it, but it's hard not to in this topic. You are right, best to keep those out of the dinner. Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.

[@uprailfan73]

Then how we going to charge the battery cars they run on coal

[@grettagrids]

Yea. Me and my bf. Were discussing these new electric buses... they sure dont like temp extremes..

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts Up Railfan..... it did make me smile. Saw an NS hopper car that had painted on it, this hauls fuel for EV's....:-) Appreciate your visiting with us and checking out the video my friend.

[@GLF-Video]

I am a big advocate for nuclear. Three Mile Island was not a serious accident. The Russian engineers did everything in their power to cause the Chernobyl accident. Fukushima was the only genuine serious accident and that was a natural disaster. Nuclear is safe.

[@caddyrack]

Until a melt down.......then what?

[@GLF-Video]

@@caddyrack Then you clean it up. This is a very broad subject to discuss here. Nuclear has an unsurpassed safety record compared to any other industry. Look into that.

[@caddyrack]

@@GLF-Video You only need a few terrorist with computer knowledge to create a disaster. Chernobyl...they were lucky, a lot of people gave their life to plug it up, the site it's still "hot". Don't tell me that nuclear is 'safe'

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts GLF. You do make some valid points. After many comments and some research I have realized my biased opinion of nuclear was only based on the couple of problems that happened in the past. I should not have been so hasty in my judgements. Appreciate your checking out the video and writing in my friend.

[@gregstone1306]

Renewable energy is always measured in households. Industry and manufacturing are never in the equation. The power and transmission will be very challenging to move towards different transportation modes. Dave thanks for your information.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts Greg, very good comment! Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.

[@foellerd]

Remove the element of fear and nuclear is a no brainer.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you Dfourty for writing in and sharing that, lot of truth in what you say, methinks the public and me needs better educated from the nuclear industry. Appreciate your taking the time to check out the video my friend. May you have a most blessed day.

[@supercuda1950]

Thanks for the info. Like before, I side with the use of coal. There is an abundant supply, it is relatively cheap, and we have all the infrastructure to mine it and deliver it. The government wants to eliminate coal to turn to green or clean energy. Their idea of clean is nuclear, and we all know what happens when someone lets the genie out of the bottle. As you state China is building new coal fired plants. You can be sure they are not state of the art and I doubt the stacks will have scrubbers like ours. In other words the pollution we save, China will more than make up. I have contacted various politicians but they don't do anything I ask (party does not matter). Like many others, good paying jobs are disappearing and we the consumer will pay the bill.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for the nice comment Rupert and you are welcome. You are right about what's going on with China and their pollution. Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.

[@KeepingitAnalog]

The Cement mill in FLORIDA would likely be Florida Crushed Stone which was purchased by Rinker Materials, then became Cemex. The mill is located in Brooksville FL.

[@ccrx6700]

For some odd reason no one here seems to know which plant it is FrontierOutpost, although I'm sure someone in the billing department knows, so it very well could be the plant you have mentioned. I've tried to find out with no luck. Very much appreciate your taking the time to write in and also to check out the future of coal video my friend.

[@jasonbabila6006]

There's not much coal fired power plants left in the states and the plant in Hawaii ceased operations last year and the last coal fired plant here in Centralia, WA is slated to shut down in a couple of years, but there's an export market for coal to Asia. I strongly suggest we keep a few coal fired power plants online and as a backup.

[@curbstomp3126]

We need more than a few.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts Jason. You are right and I agree, but remember, as long as we are in the Paris Accord, coal for electric power generation will continue to be phased out. Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.

[@roberttrometter5788]

Hey, Dave. Great information on the future of coal. There were a lot of given things s You said about coal contracts, which is also the future of coal and natural gas. Some regulations are needed, but try cutting back is too much at once. The sad thing is how many coal mines had to close. There is one thing that I want to know is how they are making out with replacement coal cars? Thanks, Dave. Robert

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts Robert and we appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend. We are supposed to be getting 3 new cars, sales reps were there actually on Tuesday. Special cars, they will have traction motors, battery operated, Innovative! I will do a video on that for sure as soon as they finalize the deal. Look up Intramotev

[@alandaters8547]

@@ccrx6700Intramotev has some really interesting projects-never heard of them until I saw your note. If the mine is higher than the dock area, perhaps there will be a way to recoup some of the downhill energy by recharginga battery instead of losing it during regenerative braking. I grew up with coal central heat in our house (and school) and love coal fired trains. With that said, IMHO thermal coal will have to wind down due to its environmental costs while alternatives gradually improve (including new nuclear plants). We had a state of the art nuclear plant fully built and then shut down due to fearmongering- it was a wasreful debacle.

[@matkremzar5474]

dave i must admit you are lighthouse on the shore! good job ! i hope the best for you and all the "crew" over at cumberland ! keep em rollin!

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you Mat for writing in with the nice comment. Appreciate your taking the time to check out the video and may you have a most blessed day my friend.

[@emknapp6713]

Dave, your totally messed up. You’re all wrong! Lol

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you Ezekiel, if I wanted your opinion I would have asked for it.....LOL At least someone has the courage to tell me that!! Always great to hear from you my good friend. Now go test some rail.

[@emknapp6713]

@@ccrx6700 😂🤣😂🤣

[@fredeisen7401]

Very informative Dave. As much as the government is pushing electric vehicles our electrical grid can not handle the demand of thousands of vehicles being charged. Electric is not the answer. As you said windmills and solar panels are not sufficient to provide enough electricity. We would need agricultural land or cut down forests to provide enough space which would be counter productive to saving the environment. Not to mention that you can not convince me that solar does not reflect heat back into the atmosphere thus the warming trend. Climate control has become a profitable business so the rhetoric and lies will continue. Nuclear power is the answer in my opinion. Much cleaner the any other power source.

[@ccrx6700]

You are right Fred, no way alternative sources can keep up with the demand, plus the new drain on the energy grid is the AI computing. And I totally agree with you on using good ground is counter productive. And yes this whole climate thing is big business. Really appreciate your watching and may you have a very good day my friend.

[@dennisb-trains23]

Dave that was some great inside information. I never here of the aforementioned paris? agreement. The news wants us to tune in, they dont care about truth or accuracy anymore. Your insight is much more valuable if people can just take off their polictical hats, aka as dunce hats, and listen to you, they might learn something. Thanks for sharing this with us. You're the best! 👍😃🚂

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for the nice comment Dennis. You a e so right about the media. What we need is good folks like you to be making the energy decisions. Appreciate your checking out the video and writing in my friend.

[@Paw95]

We have very large solar fields going in not far from me. One will take up over 25 square miles of ground. Lots of unhappy people. One of the fields will completely circle my uncle’s property on all 4 sides.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for sharing that Preston, wow that's immense! Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.

[@cncpreferred848]

I am a huge advocate for coal. Humans only emit 2.34% of all CO2. The other 97.66% of CO2 is emitted naturally. I have been in the electrical and engineering industries for decades, and I do not recommend wind, solar or EVs. They are unreliable, unpredictable, and unaffordable. Federal tax dollars are being used to pay for the extra costs of wind, solar, and EVs. That is the only reason wind and solar seem to be cost effective. China is building 2 new coal fired plants for the next few years. Even if America stops ALL coal and gas fired plants and makes EVs mandatory by 2024, there will be almost zero influence on the ecology. The problem with EVs is that the grid is no where near enough to charge the EVs. The grid will need massive upgrades to be able to charge the EVs. As the grid is today, there are some rolling blackouts, and some sectors are told to only charge at night to prevent brownouts or blackouts. I know there were a couple mishaps with nuclear, but nuclear is a good economical solution. Your article is correct. The current grid is much less than half of what is needed just to charge the EVs. I will leave the information as that for now.

[@ccrx6700]

Appreciate your sharing those thoughts, you've said a lot of truths but sadly as long as we are in the Paris Accord the EPA is hades bent on destroying coal fired power plants and they don't give a rat's ass if the replacement is there to fill in the energy needs or not! Thank you for taking the time to write in and for checking out the video my friend.

[@toddchapman1988]

Dave I enjoy your videos. My grandfather was a yard man in Perry, Iowa for the Milwaukee Road rail company. I have to disagree about your comments on Nuclear. Nuclear is safer by a large margin compared to coal and other fuels. We need MORE nuclear power plants. The most interesting and up and coming plants appear to be Thorium plants. Take a look and see for yourself what you think. Thanks for all your time producing these videos, again, I enjoy them very much! All the best!

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you Todd for taking the time to watch the video and write in. I stand corrected on nuclear, I based by biased views on only the past safety record and not on the new safety standards and plant engineering, my error in judgment. I eat crow.... May you have a most blessed day my friend.

[@jackgreen412]

Hoping all of the politicians get it through their thick heads that we need to diversify our energy sources. I disagree with you in that nuclear energy has a place in our society.

[@ccrx6700]

If you want a politician to have good common sense like you and me Jack, well good luck in that. I will admit to you I did not do the research I should have on nuclear, the safety standards they must have now have to be far better than in the past. Thank you for having the courage to disagree with me and my thoughts on nuclear were "clouded" by those 2 disasters. But hope you like the levity added with the glow in the dark moon, that cracked me up. Thank you for taking the time to watch and write in my friend.

[@jackgreen412]

@@ccrx6700 I always enjoy your presentations. Whenever there's a new one, I go to maps to figure out where you are. Back in the 70's we took a field trip up to the Paradise, Kentucky strip mines. Saw what was supposedly the biggest shovel in the world . I never saw it Clearly as I had a few beverages. I still remember that trip. I it ran on electricity as it had huge feeder cables running to it.

[@ccrx6700]

@@jackgreen412 👍😎😊

[@ReneSchickbauer]

Even with 100% renewable energy, there's still need for coal for all kinds of industrial processes (steel making, chemical industry, etc).

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you Rene for taking the time to watch the video and write in with your thoughts. May you have a most blessed day my friend.

[@jd3497]

I'm a friend of coal.

[@ccrx6700]

That is great to hear JD! Many of us "common" folks like you and me are, it's the agenda of a certain group of world powers that is behind this eliminate coal deal for power generation in rich countries. Thank you for taking the time to watch and write in my friend.

[@dennisb-trains23]

We need coal going forward. No matter what all the greenies say, coal is still meeded. There are needs for renewable yes. I am in favor of wind turbines especially with the elimination of much coal. The energy has to come from somewhere.

[@ccrx6700]

The DBRX is ready and willing to help out in that coal hauling, I know as train master you would do your part in seeing that black gold get delivered Dennis! Seriously great comment my friend, you are right.

[@whatdoidonext2234]

Dave, have you done a video on how things are coordinated at the mine? Coordinating barge arrivals with train capacity with coal silo capacity with mine production and prep plant silo capacity? Especially seeing the video's where the railroad has downtime due to a derailment, coal spill, track work etc. delay coal getting to a customer on a (? scheduled?) time. I would presume that even if the railroad experiences a "hiccup", the coal continues to get mined. Does it get mined at a lower output since you can only put so much coal in a silo or on the ground? Your videos are great and very informative.

[@ccrx6700]

No I have never done any kind of in depth video on that. There are a lot of moving parts to the equation of getting everything coordinated. It also takes a lot of cooperation with the barge companies who supply us with barges. We have had a difficult time this fall getting barges because the Army Corp of Engineers is redoing a lock on the Ohio River which has significantly delayed us getting barges. We are only running coal this fall at about half our capacity because of this. They have two stock piles at the prep plant where they can put coal so they don't have to shut down under ground operations, however both of those piles are pretty much full right now until we can get a steady flow of barges back in. Until that time, yes under ground will slow production down, there just isn't room enough to put it all right now. Glad you are enjoying the videos and thanks so much for watching my friend.

[@wvwildlifecam9159]

I know I'm able to watch this video because of Coal power. If we stop coal power plants tomorrow who is going to be left in the dark? An also with the switch to electric cars requires more coal power. Eventually the grid is going to max itself out. Then were are we all going to be?

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you WVWildlifecam for writing in with your excellent thoughts. Appreciate your taking the time to check out the video and may you have a most blessed day my friend.

[@michael-dm2bv]

Taxpayer funded public EV chargers. Biden Infastructure Bill. 500,000 at a cost of $7.5 BILLION, with plans for U.S. taxpayers to pay for 550 MILLION chargers. Land mass. Norway iS TINY compared to the U.S but has way more public chargers. Algebra is easy.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on that Michael.

[@alexhajnal107]

Regarding nuclear, the ionizing radiation emissons from coal plants exceed those of nuclear plants. Per UN statistics¹, Sv/person/GW•annum are: nuclear 0.43 vs. coal 0.7 to 1.4 (all for public exposure) Yes, meltdowns are a thing but it's still something to keep in mind. On the third hand, all other power sources (bar geothermal) have much lower levels of ionizing radiation emissions. ¹ *Carbon Neutrality in the UNECE Region: Integrated Life-cycle Assessment of Electricity Sources*, p. 52, UNECE, 2014

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts Alex. You do make some valid points. After many comments and some research I have realized my biased opinion of nuclear was only based on the couple of problems that happened in the past. I should not have been so hasty in my judgements. Appreciate your checking out the video and writing in my friend.

[@patrickfoley1577]

Your right, Dave, We are not hearing or seeing this in the " news" . Very interesting stats, to boot ! Thanks for sharing.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for the nice comment Patrick. As long as we are in the Paris Accord, coal for electric power generation will continue to be phased out. Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.

[@coniow]

Renewables. There is indeed a limiting factor with regard to the Grid Infrastructure in the US. A big part of this is that private companies own the Grids in question, and many are working against renewables. Look to their shareholders (and THEIR links to Big Oil, Gas Etc.) who are threatened by renewable energy supplies. However, something that is being investigated is "MicroGrids" where small communities with Solar PV, Wind, and possible Hydro power are connected into a central Hub, with battery storage distributed throughout the area. The Hub is connected to the National Grid, for both Import and Export for energy, but can be isolated in the event of the Grid going down. MicroGrids would reduce the need for extending the Wires, so to speak, as they are predominantly Local. NOT a popular idea with the Grid owners, as they are largely cut out. A good argument for Nationalising the Grid in the US. The present system is about making MONEY for businesses, NOT about providing an Essential Service for consumers. Just look at Texas!

[@ccrx6700]

Very interesting info on the micro grids Con, I had never heard of those before, sounds like a winner to me. But you're right, if the big boys don't get their cuts then they won't last. Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.

[@PhilEbel]

How many people have died in the coal industry and oil fields compared to nuclear generated power?

[@ccrx6700]

Good question, wonder how in the world someone could find that out Phil? Appreciate your taking the time to check out the future of coal video and write in my friend.

[@commonsense1907]

Great video! Regardless of how many solar panels, wind turbines are built. Both sources of electricity will never be able to support the power grid due to their inefficiency and lack of reliability. It takes about 3,000 acres for both solar and wind to generate about 500 megawatts. Add on cloudy days, lack of wind, snow covered solar panels, and shorter hours of daylight during the winter. Both will be no more than helpers for the grid. Europe which has gone further down the path to trying to base their grid on solar and wind have been forced by reality to fire up coal fired power plants which were scheduled to be demolished to keep their power grid functioning. Regarding natural gas firing of power plants. Natural gas is already heavily used for heating homes, buildings, cooking in restaurants, etc. The pipeline capacity can become strained during severe cold snaps. Thus large users of natural gas such as hospitals, schools, colleges, etc may fire their boilers with fuel oil if the demand for gas warrants it. Natural gas is also used to produce ammonia for via the Haber Process. Ammonia is in turn used to as refrigerant, and more importantly nitrogen fertilizer. Pipeline capacity constraints make coal the best fuel to generate electricity for base load power plants. Since metallurgical coal is used to make steel, and we live in the Age of Steel. The war on coal is effectively a war on the modern world. Unfortunately, the war on coal is also a war on fossil fuels in general from people who do not have the slightest clue of how things work. Fossil fuels underpin everything in the modern world. I have seen some throw food on paintings chanting, Stop Oil. The tragic irony. It is oil and other fossil fuels that make it possible for farmers to grow, harvest, then the shipment of vast amounts of food fresh around the world. So much some can waste it on paintings.

[@ccrx6700]

You've pretty much hit the nail on the head with those thoughts Common Sense. Not much I can disagree with what you are saying. Unfortionately common sense doesn't rule, the political agendas are seemingly what is controlling the decisions, whether they be good decisions or not, that doesn't seem to matter to them. Very sad. Thank you for taking the time to visit with us and may you have a very good day my friend.

[@billstarr9396]

Follow the money, it's as simple as that. To understand who is in line to make an insane amount of money, this is ALL that anyone needs to know what is driving the UN's Paris Climate Accord and the Green New Deal here in the USA. FOLLOW THE MONEY.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you Bill for writing in with the accurate comment. You hit the nail on the head with that one! Appreciate your taking the time to check out the video and may you have a most blessed day my friend.

[@billsmith-ms9pu]

With out reading the comments, I will comment. Renewable energy is a joke! You can't put back in what you can't keep. Coal, oil, natural gas, are going to be forever in this country! Here in Texas, we have more oil and natural gas than the Saudi's. PA, is the same sort of issues. Lots of oil, coal and natural gas. Think about the Keystone Pipe line. Killed a lot of jobs from Canada to Texas. We can sell it over seas, yes. We need it here.I am done with my rant. THANK YOU for the lesson and the post!

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts Bill. No argument from me on that, you are right. Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.

[@coniow]

Sorry: Just HAVE to be political here. Universal Fact: The trouble with Political Jokes is that sometimes they get Elected! Which political joke you may happen to think of is up to YOU! 😊

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you Con for writing in with the chuckle for me tonight. Not gonna go there on the politicians, but you did make me smile. Appreciate your taking the time to check out the video and may you have a most blessed day my friend.

[@AC-cg4be]

Most of the US infrastructure in telecom, transport, and energy is horrendous, lacking, under-funded, and under-serviced. It's really a shame. For a country with as much money as the US has, you'd think our essential services would be bomb-proof. Instead. a light breeze can knock out vital services.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts A C. No argument from me on that, you are right. Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.

[@bcdrummer1962]

Really enjoy your content, totally love that you try to make it non-political and with that preface let me say: I think the early disasterous events in Nuclear (Chernobyl, Fukushima etc.) are not indicative of the current state of development in that industry. The problem in Nuclear lies in the 40 year old technology still in service (kinda like some of the bridges and tunnels still bravely holding on after 70 years service!). I’m not at all anti-coal (my family heritage is firmly rooted in eastern PA coal country) anti-natural gas or anti-renewables…..just wanted to weigh in and ask people to really check into where Nuclear power is NOW and where it’s going rather than just be “anti-nuclear”. Cheers and keep up the great videos!

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you BC for taking the time to watch the video and write in. Yes you are right, my opinions on nuclear were biased from a few bad things in the past, now on current safety standards, I stand corrected. May you have a most blessed day my friend.

[@billsimpson604]

The area where you live is now called, 'the Saudi Arabia of natural gas' due the the huge amount of gas trapped in the Marcellus shale formation. Exxon recently said that they can now roughly double the amount of oil which they can get out of the Permian Basin in West Texas and New Mexico, using new technology they recently perfected. They used to be able to get about 10% of the oil in shale out, but with their new technology, the figure has jumped to about 20% of the oil recoverable. That changes a lot !!! It will probably change the gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale too. And any advances in extraction opens up new areas for resource extraction. That is good, because we don't want to run out of fossil fuels anytime soon. They produce 80% of all the energy we use on this planet. It will take decades to replace that much energy with anything else, and will cost hundreds of trillions of dollars to accomplish. Few Americans know that US energy companies have signed some contracts with the Chinese to deliver liquified natural gas from Texas and Louisiana LNG terminals to China, for as long as 20 years. The Chinese are smart. They don't want to become dependent on oil and gas from any one region, like the Middle East or Russia, that might be cut off. And they know that unless there is a war, the US companies will honor signed contracts. They pay the money, and they will get the gas or oil. The US sells a lot of oil to China today. Most is shipped out of Texas ports. Meeting that Paris Agreement to limit carbon dioxide emissions in the time allowed is impossible. Too many people oppose pipelines and transmission towers. Estimates to comply with the Paris Agreement run as high as $200 TRILLION !!! There is nowhere near that amount of money available, and if governments try to just print it, hyperinflation will occur. The inflation from creating that much money will make money worthless, and the global financial system would soon collapse. That would starve billions of people because NOTHING works without a functioning banking system. So coal will be around for decades to come. There is no instant alternative.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you Bill for sharing your thoughts, very good comment. Excellent points and you are right. I never thought bout the getting energy from only one region, an eye opener for me. Appreciate your taking the time to watch the video and write in. May you have a most blessed day my friend.

[@RobertWilliams-mk8pl]

I like your politcal impartiality. It seems that I share your idea on energy sourcing. I'm a tree hugger and I'm for protecting the environment. However, as when driving on the highway. If there's a hazzard up ahead, yeah..., you could just jump on your brakes. But you could cause more harm than good by just locking your brakes up. I think the reaction is a bit too knee-jerk. Without giving adequate consideration to the consequences.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts Robert. I'ma ll for a clean environment, no one wants to go back to the days of steam when everything was black smoke. As long as we are in the Paris Accord coal for power generation will be phased out. The EPA is the force behind this. However you are right, they can't phase out coal without the proper other systems in place so we don't have to rely on coal. Unfortionately the EPA doesn't see it that way, they are phasing out coal despite the capabilities of the power grid, they are nuts! All energy experts agree that coal will be gone at some point, but they have to have the infrastructure in place first and that isn't happening. May you have a most blessed day my friend.

[@charlesferebee263]

LoL. Lived in a town where the Lehigh Valley ran coal trains to a power plant on the lake shore. That was in the 50s and 60s. I believe that they just closed the plant in the last 10 or 15 years. Then I moved to Oswego N Y. They built a nuclear power plant from the ground up in the late 70s. Early 80s. It took forever to build and is still in operation today. Alot of the coal fired plants in New York are shut down. But then. So are a bunch of nuclear plants are also. They have alot of wind generators going up everywhere up here The Governor and a bunch of people are trying to go all electric by 2050 or so. LMAO. It is hard to imagine when they don't have enough sources for power now. Great Video. As always. Stay Safe out There. 🇺🇸👍👍🦺

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts Charles. Things like you mention sure seem strange on why. But, as long as we are in the Paris Accord, coal for electric power generation will continue to be phased out. Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.

[@samschultz1456]

Great video and explanations, not everyone is as well versed in the energy industry as you. Thank you for keeping it clean and simple. Keep up the great videos.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for the kind words Sam, glad you enjoyed.I've been in the energy industry all my life, so guess should know a little something about it.....:-) Appreciate your taking the time to check out the future of coal video and write in my friend.

[@tomc.7520]

War on coal? Poppycock. How about the war on the planet, Dave? You wont have to worry about the railroad if we don't have a sustainable planet. I have worked in the mines, my grandfather worked in the mines and my great-grandfather worked in the mines. And I'm not talking about those "surface mines", I'm talking about those deep, dark, hole in the side of the mountain, 48 inches high, mines. Having a livable planet is more important than your railroad or coal mining jobs. We need to change to cleaner energy sources.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts Tom. You have my utmost respect for working in those what we call, dog hole mines! Kudos to you. I for one could not do it. Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.

[@billtimmons7071]

I believe our USA energy portfolio is a good mix. Our population is increasing, our energy needs are increasing, and so we will require increasing energy supply. Natural gas is hard to beat, and is needed when there is no wind and the sun aint shining. Hydro is impacted by drought, and more dams will not be allowed. Wind power is ugly and requires too much gov'n subsidizing. If politicians will at least provide stable long term policy I believe the power industry will adapt as they are doing so now. If not, politicians and should just stay out of way unless they want to get into population control. Climate change scare tactics makes for too much knee jerk policy. The USA power industry can be very adaptive ... if some would just relax and enjoy their lighted homes and refrigerators. Long live the Cumberland mine! P.S. I just watched a Netflix series about the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster. Those units were on-line for 40 years and it will take them 40 years to clean it up! I used to very pro nuke but now I'm not sure human nature can handle dangerous technology. I dont mind some coal and gas keeping us alive. Good video sir.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on that Bill, what an awesome comment. I totally agree with you on most of it. However coal traffic is down, and if the Paris Accord keeps going coal usage for power generation will decrease even more. Appreciate your visiting with us and checking out the video my friend.

[@RussellSmith-tc6iz]

Dave. The renewable energy is still in it’s infant stage All forms of energy production will be needed as a stop gap measure. Oil. gas and coal are not replaceable once gone it’s gone. We only have one planet for now. I wish law maker would use logic when enacting new No energy system is perfect they all have one or another problems. You can have an electric vehicle without grease and oil. If we can find a clean way to burn fuel in the best way we can without creating health and climate problems. I love your videos and have learned thing I never knew. Thank You

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for sharing that Russell. Excellent comment and I do believe you should be running the energy department. You have common sense. You are totally right in your thoughts. Really appreciate your visiting with us to check out the video and may you have a very good day my friend.

[@organbuilder272]

Fantastic bundle of information, Dave. It is nice to know the us can still produce coal and make money at it The European off we incredible. I hope Cumberland took advantage. It would help pay off the water system. Very informative, Dave. Thanks.

[@ccrx6700]

Glad you enjoyed organbuilder. We are selling every bit amount of coal we can produce here and could sell more, so that is a great thing for everyone here. We like to see coal trains non stop.

[@annettelaurence5716]

Hi Dave, hardly recognised you without your blue hat😉. We (the UK) closed our mines, as you know, nearly everyone in the UK said this is bad and we've just seen why! You are totally correct, we need a mixture. We need to protect the environment but at present, policy is being driven by 1 issue protest groups. We close mines, then someone objects to gas exploration, then someone objects to wind farms or solar farms near wood or a lake or on a hill and they don't look at the bigger picture of the needs of the country. At least you're here with you trains, your laugh and your obvious love of your job, railroads (or railways🙃) and your industry. Keep making the videos and cheering us up!

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you Annette for taking the time to watch the video and write in with your thoughts. May you have a most blessed day my friend.

[@mikep1085]

Hi Dave, Its hard to touch on coal energy without getting into politics.... I'll just say that hopefully the next President will be 100% for US generated energy, and coal is a huge source of US generated energy!

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for the excellent comment Mike, you are totally right on all accounts in your words. Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.

[@djfaber]

We should be building an operating gen 4 nuclear for no other reason than to recycle the existing waste into significantly safer and more useful materials.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you cfaber for writing in with your thoughts. Appreciate your taking the time to check out the video and may you have a most blessed day my friend.

[@peteengard9966]

Renewable energy is not ready. Look at Texas for an example. Also look at California. Brownouts, and collapse of the power grids are the norm. You just can't mandate rechargable battery transportation without the supporting infrastructure. My neighbors new electric truck can't be charged in his own home. The power grid for the neighborhood is more than fifty years old and can't support high amperage chargers without a multi million dollar renewal. He had a charger installed but it takes almost 24 hours for a 100 mile range.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts Pete. No argument from me on that, you are right, they are not ready. Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.

[@stephenrichard5191]

Dave, you and I have talked in comments before about the coal hate thing before. WV just like most of PA is a large coal. In 1993/94 the parent company that owned the mine my dad worked at closed he mine because they wanted out of the coal area. They closed with still 25 years in that seam. 500 people out of a job. Much like yourself our area is not against renewable energy, only we don't want to loose the jobs. The cost is high and the impact of many of the renewable energy forms do just as much if not more damage.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for the excellent comment Stephen. Sadly coal will be phased out in US at some point for power generation. Appreciate your taking the time to watch the video and write in my friend.

[@wvrockcrusher]

Well Dave, if you want to talk energy, politics are the main drivers of it. It's just a fact that energy and politics make or break our economy, and with the current agenda pushing along the greenies, everything suffers in some way because it's all connected. We will need coal for quite a while yet for thermal use as there isn't enough reliable power to go around from renewables or the infrastructure to support them, as you mentioned reading from the article from Coal Age. I just read an article about Britain having to fire up the coal plants to deal with the heat wave they are having because the wind isn't cutting it and the solar efficiency falls on its face above 25 Celsius. Just shows how vulnerable renewables are when conditions are less than ideal. They are getting the cart in front of the horse with all the hype politics promotes about green and re-joining the Paris Accord, which the previous administration took us out of. I've worked in coal and have friends and family who currently work in coal production and power generation, so I am no stranger to how it all works. They have killed the coal industry completely where I live in Preston Co., WV, shut down the power plant, pulled up all the rails, and killed our economy here. Not one pound of coal is mined here anymore, and it shows because everybody has to drive 40 miles to get to work. It's sad because I remember how good things were when we had coal and all the good paying jobs that went with it. They used to say there were 7 ancillary jobs for every 1 employed miner whether it was vendors, trucking, repairs, contractors, restaurants, parts stores, automotive dealerships, etc. The county also lost millions in tax revenue, especially after the power plant shut down when First Energy took over. People just don't realize how important coal is and the many roles it can play in the lives of so many people directly or indirectly. Sorry about the rant Dave. I just get a little worked up about this stuff because I know we can use and produce coal responsibly with the technology we have today for so many things, making lives better in so many ways. Hope you guys at the Cumberland Mine have many more years of employment!

[@ccrx6700]

Thank youwvrockcrusher for sharing your thoughts, very good comment. No problem bout the rant, it was a topic that deserved a whole lot longer video, with a lot of strong feelings. Appreciate your taking the time to watch the video and write in. May you have a most blessed day my friend.

[@davidanalyst671]

Europe has stopped buying coal. The energy crisis is over. They would much rather purchase natural gas, and natural gas in the UK was ridiculous, the nat gas in the USA was 10 dollars per cubic. Today USA nat gas is 2.7 dollars. I don't have insider info, but that ridiculous price drop means that the surge of buying is done, and European plants are once again closing Nuclear and Coal plants. I like coal cause they use badass trains, but energy is slowly changing, and natural gas is slowly taking coal's lunch. Coal isn't being eliminated, its more like cheaper natual gas plants are being installed in more places. With all the regulations in the USA Natgas plants are a half the price of coal.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts David. And appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.