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Coal port looks like a risky venture — Salt Lake Tribune Editorial

"Here's the idea:

"Four Utah counties borrow $53 million from the state to pay a private company in California to give the counties access to a port in Oakland to ship their coal overseas.

"And here are the red flags: ..."

Also:

— Utah coal: California, here it comes — and not everyone is happy — Brian Maffly | The Salt Lake Tribune

"Utah wants to get into the coal-exporting business.

"To do that, the state intends to invest $53 million in a new deep-water port in Oakland, Calif., in a bid to guarantee ship-loading rights for coal and other central Utah products that will be sent abroad — to Asia and Latin America.

"But pulling off the deal could prove more controversial than Utah bargained for...."

Utah's oldest coal plant retired in face of new EPA standards — Brian Maffly | The Salt Lake Tribune

Trib Talk: Utah coal to be exported to Asia? — Jennifer Napier-Pearce | The Salt Lake Tribune

Region's ecomony must become less coal dependent — Ashland (Kentucky) Independent Editorial

" ... Just as Kentucky farmers dramatically reduced their dependence on tobacco, this region's economy must reduce its dependence on coal. That's a much greater challenge than just switching to other crops but it is something that must be done."

Coal declines no matter who is in the White House — Charleston (W. Va.) Gazette Editorial

"Politicians in West Virginia and Kentucky shout themselves hoarse claiming that the Obama administration's enforcement of pollution laws is a "war on coal." But here's an irony:

"Mine jobs in the Central Appalachian Basin fell more under presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton than they have under Obama. Yet nobody accuses those previous presidents of a war on coal. ..."