- Moderator
- #221
When coal companies go bankrupt, the mining doesn't always stop
The largest pillar of the coal industry has now fallen. In filing for bankruptcy last week, Peabody Energy joined Arch Coal, Patriot Coal, Walter Energy and Alpha Natural Resources among the largest coal mining companies recently facing this fate.
Coal emits more air pollutants and climate warming gases than any other fossil fuel, and its mining can devastate local ecosystems and watersheds. Curtailing the amounts of coal mined and burned would thus yield a myriad of benefits for the environment and health.
However, the road to bankruptcy court doesn't necessarily mark the path to a sustainable energy future. It is time to think afresh about how the environment and health can be considered in coal bankruptcies.
Like most of its peers, Peabody chose Chapter 11 for its bankruptcy filing. Unlike a Chapter 7 liquidation, Chapter 11 allows a company to continue operating while it manages its debts and seeks to emerge as a viable corporation. Peabody's statement said it intends to continue operating its mines uninterrupted as the bankruptcy process proceeds.
Thus, while bankruptcy can crimp the finances of creditors and investors, it won't necessarily cut coal mine output. In fact, coal companies seeking to pay off creditors may face pressure to maintain revenues from coal.
The challenge of maintaining revenue has grown as coal prices have fallen. Coal from Wyoming's Powder River Basin, widely used for its low sulfur content, has fallen to $9.35 per ton. I'd call it dirt cheap if I knew anywhere selling dirt for less than half a penny per pound.
The coal companies simply cannot continue to lose money. So they will go the way of buggy whip manufacturers.
8 years of Barry the Fairy did this....and all that is heading to the dumpster along with everything else the POS touched. Coal will be just fine....YOU LOSE (again).
Coal jobs have been plummeting since the 1950's.
