When President Trump signed a series of executive orders at the Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday aimed at dismantling his predecessor's attempt to counter climate change, he touted them as fulfilling a campaign promise to bring back lost coal jobs. Few people think that will happen, including Robert Murray, the CEO of America's largest privately held coal-mining company, Murray Energy, and a big supporter of Trump and his energy policy. "I would not say it's a good time in the coal industry — it's a better time," he told The Guardian.
There were 98,505 U.S. coal-mining jobs in 2015, versus 127,745 in 2008, according to the Mine Safety and Health Administration, but most of those job losses are due to technology and cheaper and cleaner energy sources like natural gas and renewables, not regulation. When he spoke with Trump about coal and jobs, "I suggested that he temper his expectations — those are my exact words," Murray said. "He can't bring them back." BBC News has some charts:
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