In Wyoming, Coal Culture Is Everywhere

All over the county, America’s coal industry is struggling.  It is threatened by natural gas, renewables, climate change, and a recent decision not to build an export terminal to Asia.  Overall, US coal production is down, as is consumption: in 2007, half of America’s electricity came from coal but that number shrank to forty percent in 2013, according to the US Energy Administration.  But in Wyoming, coal culture is everywhere and in towns like Gillette, it powers the economy.  Mines in the Northeast region produce more coal than anywhere else in the county.  Leigh Paterson, with our Inside Energy team, reports that while the industry is suffering in other top producing states, Wyoming’s love affair with coal continues.