The rise of renewables at the expense of fossil is also a tale of technological unemployment across mining, power, and even transportation sectors. Coal plants

The rise of renewables at the expense of fossil is also a tale of technological unemployment across mining, power, and even transportation sectors. Coal plants, particularly the older ones most at risk of closure in the US, require significantly more labor per MWh generated than cleaner sources. Here's a recently announced coal plant closure: http://www.cortezjournal.com/article/20161001/News05/161009993/0/FRONTPAGE/Coal-fired-plant%E2%80%99s-closing-sends-shockwaves-in-Nucla http://www.cortezjournal.com/article/20161001/News05/1610099... ... the local job options could be pretty limited in far-western Montrose County once two of its major employers close their doors, eliminating what are currently 55 jobs at the plant and 28 at the mine. ... According to the EIA, the Nucla plant generated 416,150 MWh in 2015 for an average annual power of 47.5 megawatts: http://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/browser/#/plant/527 http://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/browser/#/plant/527 That's an abysmal productivity per employee (or a fabulous job source, depending on your perspective): 0.86 real annualized megawatts per employee at the plant ; 0.57 megawatts per employee if you include the mining jobs. A well-sited utility scale solar farm like Desert Sunlight can produce an average annualized power of 147 megawatts with just 15 full time employees, for a ratio of 9.8 megawatts per plant employee. The construction of renewable energy systems still consumes fossil fuels as inputs to manufacturing concrete, glass, metals, plastics, and silicon. Construction machinery likewise still runs on fossils. But the lifetime-amortized dependence on extractive industries for a MWh of renewable energy is much lower than for fossil energy. --- In the recent past, coal made up 30% of all dry bulk shipping: http://marketrealist.com/2014/01/key-players-involved-global-seaborne-coal-trade/ http://marketrealist.com/2014/01/key-players-involved-global... In the USA, coal is the single greatest railroad transport category by tonnage. From 2008-2012, when volumes were considerably higher, coal was an even greater #1 by tonnage and was also the #1 source of railroad revenue: https://www.aar.org/BackgroundPapers/Railroads%20and%20Coal.pdf https://www.aar.org/BackgroundPapers/Railroads%20and%20Coal.... There's no commodity that has enough volume to make up for the decline of coal transportation. There's going to be "stranded assets" left in railroads and shipping along with fossil extraction. And, coming with the rise of electric vehicles, trucking jobs on the chopping block too. Hazmat certified tanker truck drivers -- the ones who drive tankers carrying flammable fluids -- are highly paid, well above trucking jobs in general: http://www.truckdriverssalary.com/tanker-trucking-salary/ http://www.truckdriverssalary.com/tanker-trucking-salary/ https://qz.com/24388/how-to-earn-170000-a-year-driving-a-truck-warning-its-messy/ https://qz.com/24388/how-to-earn-170000-a-year-driving-a-tru... Their ranks will dwindle if/when electric vehicles suppress demand for refueling with fluid fuels. Even if self-driving trucks never pan out.