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July 27, 2012
William Harasym
XXXX Smith St. Apt.ZZZ
Anytown, WY
82XXX-XXXX
Dear William:
Thank you for contacting me regarding coal mining in
Wyoming.
I am a strong, unapologetic supporter of coal mining in
Wyoming, and use of coal for affordable electricity. The Powder River Basin
(PRB) of Wyoming and Montana is the Saudi Arabia of coal. The total amount of
recoverable resources in this tiny area of the country is staggering. In fact,
the PRB supplies about 40% of the entire country’s coal supply for electricity
generation. Coal production in Wyoming is safe, environmentally sound, and a
massive economic driver for our state and country.
Contrary to the claims of some, coal use will not
diminish in this country or the world anytime soon. While the Obama
Administration is doing everything in its power (and many things outside of its
power) to advance its anti-coal agenda, it cannot hide from the verifiable fact
of strong demand for coal.
Domestically, coal remains the most abundant,
affordable, and reliable source of low cost energy for middle class families and
the manufacturing sector of our country. Internationally, coal usage grew by 60%
over the last decade, and is expected to continue to grow exponentially in the
next decade. While we in America wring our hands over first world problems like
what emissions reductions work best, today, nearly 1.3 billion people do not
have access to electricity in the world. There is no debate that coal will be
the primary source of bringing power to these parts of the world.
Some have called President Obama’s anti-coal agenda a
“war on coal.” In my estimation it is a war on affordable electricity. Take for
example the Environmental Protection Agency’s recently proposed rules on carbon
emissions from coal-fired power plants. That rule set carbon emissions standards
so low that it effectively bans any new coal-fired power plants from being built
in the United States ever again. In fact, the emission level is set so
unrealistically low that it might even ban natural gas plants at higher
elevations. By the stroke of a pen, the EPA has single-handedly taken our most
abundant and affordable natural resource off the table. (Climate change and toxic mercury from emissions never crosses Cynthia's simple little mind. She's a shill for dirty energy and doesn't give a hoot if mercury damages your child neurologically, just that her masters tell her what to say because she is owned by them. Pathetic.)
The costs of the carbon emissions regulations alone to
the American economy will be staggering. Combine that with the other
coal-related proposed or final rules at the EPA and Department of the Interior,
and the total cost to the U.S. economy rises to the billions of dollars every
year by the EPA’s own estimate. In fact, in response to the EPA’s onslaught of
regulations, 59 power plants that produce 25.4 gigawatts of power are slated to
close. That’s enough electricity to power 19.1 million homes, and those plants
employ 29,000 workers.
Perhaps most troubling is that even if the EPA is
successful in shutting down our economy in their zeal to cut emissions, they
will have succeeded at nothing. A complete and total end to U.S. carbon
emissions would not put a measurable dent in global carbon output. (This is the Big Lie.) I cannot
stand by while the EPA single-handedly prevents our economic recovery over an
issue they cannot control even if I were to ascribe to them the best possible
intentions. I fully intend to continue my battle to halt the Obama
Administrations war on affordable electricity, and to support Wyoming’s hard
working coal families by any legislative means available.
Thank you again for taking the time to write to me. I
value your input. (She doesn't care what I have to say not one iota.) If you haven’t done so already, I would like to encourage you
to visit my website at www.lummis.house.gov. There you can sign up to receive
my newsletter, and have access to a wealth of other information. I won’t flood
your email box, but I will provide you with updates once in a while about
activities in Washington that affect our lives in Wyoming. I hope you will sign
up so that we can stay in close touch, and I look forward to seeing you in
Wyoming.
Sincerely,
Cynthia M. Lummis
Member of
Congress
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