Our Mission
We formed Coal is the Cornerstone, Inc. to give voice to supporters of coal in its many dimensions and contributions. Coal has been demonized to the point where few individuals or organizations now speak in favor of its use. The media and other anti-coal special interest groups hold sway. Consider the following headlines just since the Trump Administration announced support for coal: Reuters: “Trump Administration plans to give dirty US coal plants a reprieve”; The Washington Post: “Trump gave the dying coal industry a lifeline”; ABC: “Trump wants ‘clean coal’ but there’s no such thing”
These unfounded exaggerations are legion in the press, television and social media. Yet, the coal industry has not developed a viable response to coherently delineate the continuing contributions coal makes to the lives of virtually every human being in the US, Europe and throughout the globe. Energy is the sine qua non of modern life, and coal has been, is, and continues to be our most important source of energy. From electricity to steel to cement to communication, coal is the fundamental cornerstone of contemporary civilization.
In 2021, Joe Biden disbanded the National Coal Council with impunity. The regulatory assault on coal has been ongoing for 15 years. Since 2010, coal production has dropped from 1,085 million tons to less than 500 million as hundreds of mines closed. Over 300 coal power plants have been retired, most prematurely. Electricity from coal has declined from 45% of power to 16% as coal plants have been required to reduce their output. Tens of thousands of miners and related workers have lost their jobs. Communities and families have been devastated. And the beat goes on.
Our primary goal is education and to systematically get data on the value of coal into the hands of individuals and companies who want to support the industry whether it be in private or public conversation, meetings, conferences, hearings, media outlets, editorials, letters to the editor, classrooms, testimony or debates. The facts regarding the benefits of coal are real and compelling but mean little if not widely and regularly distributed. Our weekly column in CoalZoom (https://www.coalzoom.com/index.cfm) is an example of our work and is routinely republished in RealClear Energy as well as LinkedIn, where our roster of almost 4,500 readers is steadily growing . Further, this Website enables us to reach markets beyond the coal industry per se since many other companies, organizations and individuals depend on coal. We continue to aggressively expand our profile to other media outlets, direct mailings, presentations, testimony prep and consulting.
Help Us Support Coal
Why we need your support. Coal is America’s greatest energy resource, but coal and its associated industries are under relentless attack. If you thought the past decade was bad for the coal industry, the worst is yet to come. The US Energy Administration’s 2025 Annual Energy Outlook projects that by 2035, coal generating capacity will drop from 170 GW to only 3 GW -a decline of 98%. Coal generation will drop from 650 billion kWh to 44 billion - less than one percent of US electricity. Coal production will decline from 500 million tons to 167 million and only 27 million tons will be used by coal power plants. Many tens of thousands of jobs will be eliminated, and not just in the coal industry. In other words, based on EIA projections, in just 10 years coal power will be wiped from the US energy landscape to be largely replaced by intermittent and non-dispatchable sources -solar and wind. Yet, the United States has 27% of the world’s coal.
President Trump has taken important substantive steps to support coal, but his term ends in 43 months. Will it be back to Business as Usual? The “War Against Coal” is pervasive, relentless and heavily funded. Multi-Billionaire Michael Bloomberg has committed $500 million to eliminate coal and his support for the Sierra Club’s “Beyond Coal” Campaign is clear “We want to close all US coal plants”. As many as 200 lawyers and organizers have been hired to litigate and work against coal. And the fight extends beyond our borders. The Rockefeller Foundation is funding a plan to close 60 coal-fired power plants in developing countries by 2030, i.e. where millions already live in energy poverty.
We have extensive experience in the coal industry and our mutual commitment to coal advocacy runs strong and deep. But we need resources to get this endeavor off the ground and ask like-minded individuals and companies supporting coal to make a financial contribution to Coal is the Cornerstone, Inc. in the box below.
We are glad to answer any questions or travel to companies seeking to join the effort. If we don’t stand for coal now, it will be too late. Please contribute to our efforts.
NOTE: We emphasize this is a donation not a subscription. We are going to fight for coal regardless. But if you believe in coal, as we do, we welcome your financial support, promise to use it wisely and will include you on our update mailings.
Please Donate
Frequency
One time
Monthly
Amount
$50
$500
Other
0/100
Comment (optional)