Environmental groups are becoming concerned with continuing coal production in western states and decided to file a lawsuit against the government. The group’s fear is that the coal burning is going to heavily impact climate change over the upcoming years. The federal government has decided to try and settle the lawsuit rather than fighting it in court. According to the NY Times article, “APNewsBreak: Feds Seeking Settlement in Coal Mining Lawsuits,” the projects that the environmental group are targeting involve more than 600 million tons of coal in western states. The specific plant that the environmental group is targeting is the Arch Coal, Inc.’s Black Thunder Mine in Wyoming. The mine is one of the largest coal mines in the world. This issue relates to the climate change because coal mining and emission negatively affects climate change.

After doing further research, Wyoming is the leading state for production in the United States, so it makes sense that it is the focus of a large lawsuit. According to U.S. Energy Information Association, Wyoming has 39% of the total coal production in the United States. That is a leading factor that a group has a large lawsuit out against a company in the state that is leading the U.S. in coal production. This article is a big issue because coal is a big issue with climate change, so it will be interesting to see how different environmental groups treat the issue of coal emissions. It will also be interesting to see how the federal government reacts to this issue.

References:

“APNewsBreak: Feds Seeking Settlement in Coal Mining Lawsuits.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 2016. Web. 07 Feb. 2016.

“U.S. Energy Information Administration – EIA – Independent Statistics and Analysis.” Which States Produce the Most Coal? Web. 07 Feb. 2016.