There’s a lot to unpick here. There’s permanent unchanging things like the continued decline of the coal industry (there are precious few scenarios where it is

There’s a lot to unpick here. There’s permanent unchanging things like the continued decline of the coal industry (there are precious few scenarios where it is cheaper and/or better than all of the many alternatives available). There’s the danger of wrapping up your profession and your identity (something we in tech should be on our guard against). But then there’s the grim and hopefully ephemeral spectacle of a bunch of rich politicians lying to their faces and giving them false hope. The only way the coal industry survives as a major employer is as a form of disguised welfare.