President Trump Wants Coal Mining In Gunnison National Forest In Colorado

A proposal has been signed to possibly mine for coal in western Colorado. The plan would be to expand the West Elk coal mine in Gunnison County.

From this article, it looks like there could be a plan in place. It would involve Arch Coal's projection to lease 1,700 acres of the Gunnison National Forest to mine nearly 17 million tons of coal. This idea would consist of building roads and allowing drilling in the expansion of the West Elk coal mine.

Don't want to get political here. This is not about how I feel or don't about the president. This article popped up on my Facebook page. I saw Gunnison National Forest and I got curious. My first thought was do we even use coal anymore?  For sure the demand is way down. So, why would we want to reintroduce it? Someone told me that coal mines emit an enormous amount of methane gas. Plus, what ever happened to the huge move towards natural gas? Wasn't that supposed to be the next big thing in low-cost energy?

The article does give an idea of what would have to be done to the area. More than six miles of roads would have to be constructed and 48 drilling pads to be built. That sounds like a lot of destruction to this wildlife area.

Mining for coal, to me, just seems so antiquated of an idea. Like taking a step back instead of looking toward the future. I could be wrong. I don't have the faintest idea about this type of issue.

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