The president’s preferential treatment of fossil fuels will cost consumers.
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PresidentDonaldTrump’spreferentialtreatmenttowardfossilfuelshasbackfiredandleftmanyAmericanenergyproducersanxiousaboutthefutureoftheindustry.Thepresidentdoesn’tseemtocare.
OnTuesday,Trumpdoubleddownonhisfossilfuelenergyagendawithanexecutiveordertobolster“America’sBeautifulCleanCoalIndustry.”Theedictlabelscoalas“costeffective”and“criticaltomeetingtheriseinelectricitydemand”anddirectsfederalagenciestoidentifyandrescindfederalregulationsandprogramsthat“seektotransitiontheNationawayfromcoalproductionandelectricitygeneration.”
CoalwasoncethedominantenergysourceintheU.S.,makingupmorethan50percentofthenation’selectricitygenerationin2005.Sincethen,coalusehassteadilydeclined,andin2023,itgeneratedonly16percentofAmerica’selectricity.
Coal’sdeclinewasnotcausedbyafederalplottotransitionawayfromcoal,likeTrumpthinks,butratherbymarketsandi
