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Letter: Coal port is not worth Utah’s money

(Eric Risberg | AP file photo)  The former Oakland Army Base pier at left and the Port of Oakland at lower right in Oakland, Calif., on Feb. 5, 2016.

(Eric Risberg | AP file photo) The former Oakland Army Base pier at left and the Port of Oakland at lower right in Oakland, Calif., on Feb. 5, 2016.

Why is the state of Utah still wallowing around trying to get a port in Oakland (which they have made clear they don’t want) to ship coal to China.

I don't know what the figures are now, but in 2016 according to the U.S. Energy Administration there were 50,000 coal-industry employees, 102,500 wind-industry employees and 260,000 solar-industry employees in America. Do we see a pattern here? I would imagine that these numbers are even more telling in 2020.

Coal is a dying industry and a terrible pollutant. Shipping it elsewhere is just as unconscionable as burning it here. Stop beating a dead horse and use the money to support coal miners with new industry and job training in other fields. It would be money well spent. Spending another $3 million trying ship coal to China is not.

Micki Moulton, Taylorsville

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