I have yet to understand the massive and punitive EPA restriction placed on American energy producers and yet, because of high demand for coal in India and China coal will continue to be the main source of energy world wide.
So here at home we are regulating coal mining into obscurity while internationally demand for coal is rising.
How does a thinking person square the 2 different positions in their head? The atmosphere around the world is an envelope into which India and China are pumping pollution. The difference made by EPA restrictions here is minuscule and does not benefit the American economy or the American public.
China and India prefer coal because it is the cheaper energy option. It is estimated that by 2017 coal will surpass oil as the leading world wide energy source.
So, a thinking person has to conclude that EPA restrictions are more about picking winners and losers or redistributing wealth than protecting the environment. Because, in reality, the EPA only controls a very small part of the world and an even smaller part of the problem.
John Bryant
Rotonda West, FL
