Energy in America: Coal costs

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-- our series energy in America there are new concerns at the president's push for more natural gas production.

We'll hit Americans where it hurts most.

There Wallace a crackdown on coal -- oil company is raising some red flags in all of this energy prices could it.

They say issue that's so what's the reality here -- Kelly joins us live now in Washington.

Then the coal industry says it they got a preview of what they were in four when -- presidential candidate Obama was interviewed about all this in 2008.

Going back to then what did he sent us.

It that's variously interviewed in the S servers Cisco chronicle and in that interview he offered a prediction of what would become of the coal industry the -- that she says it proved remarkably.

Accurate.

Listen to the words the 1988 right -- actually 2008 words of then candidate Barack Obama quote.

If somebody wants to build a coal power plant -- can't.

It's just that it will bankrupt them because they're going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that's being -- -- also generate billions of dollars that we can invest in solar wind biodiesel.

And other alternative energy approaches.

Well Barack Obama -- the pledge when he's run for office a couple of years ago to take just declare war on coal.

And he's pretty much lived up to that we have things coming down every day new rules to propose regulations.

That are shutting our coal industry it's our face on the whole are low cost abundant power based on -- west Virginia's competitive -- has been lost our nation's competitive -- -- -- lost.

A coal industry believes that an array of new EPA rules most recently the one that requires older coal fired plants to be prohibitively expensive emissions standards.

Well not diminish the world's need for coal it will just increase exports of -- to the developing world.

Where the thirst for abundant cheap energy is growing -- and that's and that's that's what they say we'll put the United States at a competitive disadvantage.

So the second part of the president's a 2008 interview that we can invest billions of dollars an alternative energy is as you mentioned.

That was an apparent reference to to cap and trade legislation riot.

You and end as we all know cap and trade legislation died in the last congress that's why administration critics say.

The Obama EPA's legislating through rule making not through congress.

Administration is now banking on the cheap and abundant natural gas as you said it's a -- transitional fuel until alternative energies become more prevalent but.

What's happening in Europe and what Europe is finding out is that these alternative energies are not as self sustaining or as profit music making -- people would like the only.

Way that wind and solar farms are staying in business is by being heavily subsidized.

By governments and by the -- -- thank you so much that -- reporting.

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Energy in America: Coal costs

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