Attacks on coal industry are personal
The impacts of the EPA’s war on coal are being felt by real families across the nation. As the pressure of low gas prices are added in on top of the EPA’s rapid increase in regulatory pressure, people like Amanda Sedgmer of Hopedale, OH face the prospects of losing their jobs, their homes, their community, and family history.
Amanda Sedgmer, mother of five and daughter of coal country, believes that in this presidential election, her way of life is at stake.
“If you ask anybody in the coal industry what would happen if Obama is re-elected, they’d say the coal industry is done,” said Sedgmer, whose husband, Ryan, is a coal miner and whose family has depended on the industry for at least four generations….
“If coal fell, which is one of the main sources of employment around this area, everything would suffer,” Sedgmer said while sitting on her front porch. “There’d be no funding for the schools, which are already suffering. I can’t see how destroying one industry benefits anything.”
The job is a source of income for the family and pride for Ryan. “I like it,” the 30-year-old said. “I enjoy doing it. … It’s provided for our family. We have a big family and we haven’t had to worry about too much.” …
“If all coal mines shut down,” Amanda Sedgmer paused, “we would struggle … we would definitely lose our house. “
Sedgmer is also the face of a growing trend across the country. These are people who initially supported President Obama, but now are questioning the wisdom of that choice.
Sedgmer voted for President Obama in 2008 and she is not a particular fan of Mitt Romney, but she’s voting for the Republican because she believes he is the only chance the coal industry and her community have to survive.
Read the rest of this CNN.com article