That might be a factor, but I doubt it really matters much. I think the real reason there is so much attachment is that change is hard, and ending coal means th

That might be a factor, but I doubt it really matters much. I think the real reason there is so much attachment is that change is hard, and ending coal means that coal miners (and lots if other people working in related industries) will have to basically restart their entire life. They'll also lose a lot of their wealth. Coal mining towns would become ghost towns, coal miners homes will lose most value (who wants to live in a ghost town), they'll have to move for new work, losing their friends and community in the process. A lot of coal miners and oil workers (probably most) only have a high school diploma. You get rid of coal and oil you get rid of some of the last well paying jobs that don't require college. Finally, this doesn't just effect the coal miners. This effects railword workers, suppliers, the people working at the gas station where miners buy their coffee, who'll soon be out if a job when the gas station closes, etc. Literally the entire town, except those who are retired or close to, will be forced to move and will lose a lot of their wealth in the process, lose friends, etc. In Wyoming for example, this will also impact other parts of the state. When coal was doing poorly a few years ago, the loss in state budget caused layoffs at the University of Wyoming, for example. The impact will be far reaching. It makes sense that politicians that work to avoid that are popular in these areas.