Obama takes action against coal extraction—but it’s not enough
by Vesta Davis About 40% of coal in the United States is mined on public land. Last Friday, President Obama and his administration stopped all new leases for coal companies to mine on public lands. The goal is to verify the coal industries’ efficiency with taxpayer’s money and coal’s impacts on climate change. This review could lead to higher costs for coal companies and thus an overall slowdown in extraction. This means that coal companies can still mine active properties, but they can’t create new mines on public land until