I am not advocating for no change. I understand that the future of the planet hangs in the balance but surely you can do better than "Things change." Especially when you are talking about the upheaval of hundreds of thousands of people's lives. It is precisely that kind of cavalier attitude that reinforces the siege mentality so prevalent around here. You won't win anyone over to your side with that approach.
I live in Gillette, Wyoming where there are over a dozen coal mines operating. What's missing in this story are the jobs that will be lost in the contract industries that support mining like equipment repair and maintenance, welding, testing labs, reclamation, tool suppliers, retail/service and healthcare, etc., not to mention the loss of mineral severance taxes which have literally transformed this once dusty little cow town into the modern small city that we inhabit today. There are far more of these jobs than just the 2,000 or so miners and transportation workers working here. There is a trickle-down effect when jobs are lost. I know this from personal experience. I used to live in two other mining areas: White Pine, Michigan and Butte, Montana. They were once thriving communities too. When the bottom dropped out of the copper market in the 1970's both of these places practically disappeared overnight. Now, they are removing the street lights in White Pine because they can't afford the electric bill and a drive through the streets of Butte shows row upon row of empty houses and stores where families used to live and shop. The transition to solar and wind will have real, serious consequences for a majority of the 29,000 people who live and work here in Gillette and Northeastern Wyoming, indeed, for the entire state of Wyoming whose coffers have been filled to overflowing with severance tax dollars. These people will fight tooth and nail to protect their jobs and their comfortable living. Do not expect them to go quietly into the night. They vote Republican. It will take massive amounts of education and concrete, bona fide jobs that pay as well as the jobs they have now to convince them to transition to a green economy.
I am not advocating for no change. I understand that the future of the planet hangs in the balance but surely you can do better than "Things change." Especially when you are talking about the upheaval of hundreds of thousands of people's lives. It is precisely that kind of cavalier attitude that reinforces the siege mentality so prevalent around here. You won't win anyone over to your side with that approach.
I can see a similar response from the governor of Wyoming, Matt Mead.
I live in Gillette, Wyoming where there are over a dozen coal mines operating. What's missing in this story are the jobs that will be lost in the contract industries that support mining like equipment repair and maintenance, welding, testing labs, reclamation, tool suppliers, retail/service and healthcare, etc., not to mention the loss of mineral severance taxes which have literally transformed this once dusty little cow town into the modern small city that we inhabit today. There are far more of these jobs than just the 2,000 or so miners and transportation workers working here. There is a trickle-down effect when jobs are lost. I know this from personal experience. I used to live in two other mining areas: White Pine, Michigan and Butte, Montana. They were once thriving communities too. When the bottom dropped out of the copper market in the 1970's both of these places practically disappeared overnight. Now, they are removing the street lights in White Pine because they can't afford the electric bill and a drive through the streets of Butte shows row upon row of empty houses and stores where families used to live and shop. The transition to solar and wind will have real, serious consequences for a majority of the 29,000 people who live and work here in Gillette and Northeastern Wyoming, indeed, for the entire state of Wyoming whose coffers have been filled to overflowing with severance tax dollars. These people will fight tooth and nail to protect their jobs and their comfortable living. Do not expect them to go quietly into the night. They vote Republican. It will take massive amounts of education and concrete, bona fide jobs that pay as well as the jobs they have now to convince them to transition to a green economy.