Coal Education Development and Resource (CEDAR) representative Georgene Robertson points out, however, that coal will always have its positive side.

“There are always two sides to every story,” Robertson said in a recent interview with International Longwall News on coal’s outlook.

“CEDAR helps promote the positive side.”

The group’s existence benefits industry and has an education program for the public, many of whom perceive coal as dirty and dangerous.

“There are so many negative groups and articles constantly on TV and in the papers that just hearing about positive coal information helps generate more positive or at least more open-minded coal discussions,” said Robertson.

“Knowledge is power and providing coal facts and information opens the door for discussion instead of just allowing students to receive the close-minded opinions of the environmental activist.”

Because the children of today become the work professionals of tomorrow, the group says it will do all it can to encourage students to learn more about coal mining – even giving teachers the tools they need to provide the most accurate lessons on the industry.

“CEDAR provides grant money and resources for teachers to utilise in their classrooms to teach a coal study unit … [which] must comply with state educational guideline criteria,” Robertson said.

“Most [state] citizens have a coal background or someone in their family that worked with coal or at a coal-related job [but] in our fast-paced, high-tech world, this coal awareness sometimes goes unnoticed unless the teacher is teaching about coal and it generates discussions at home and in the classroom.”

She said many students and families had given feedback to CEDAR on the new information gained by its efforts, many of them having a new-found pride in a family heritage that is laced with cap lamps, conveyor belts and coal dust.

CEDAR’s annual Regional Coal Fair is also becoming increasingly popular. The fair, which allows students from kindergarten through Grade 12 to display talent that Robertson said would otherwise go unnoticed, is similar to a science fair but with each project relating in some way to coal mining.

“Every student has an area that they can shine within and utilising coal and competing within one of the seven different categories allows them to display that talent in some of the most unusual ways,” she said.

“We have had students work on alternative fuel projects, uses for fly-ash, set up internet websites, and discover some of the most unusual history connections (like with baseball and coal camps).”

Another advantage to CEDAR’s efforts is the support it receives from operators, she said.

“Every operator within the five participating counties has sent speakers to the schools to speak to classrooms about coal,” Robertson said.

“Some of them have served as judges for the local school coal fair competitions and several companies host students at their jobs, showing them active mining and the post-mining land uses.

“During the Regional Coal Fair week, the TVMI [Tug Valley Mining Institute, another local industry group] host their monthly meeting at the Harless Community Center [in Gilbert, West Virginia] so everyone can tour the student projects.”

She said interest in CEDAR and its events had increased steadily over the years.

“We have been doing the CEDAR program in West Virginia for eight years and the Kentucky CEDAR program has been in existence since 1992,” Robertson said.

“They have been influencing students from kindergarten throughout their 12-year school career.”

Robertson added that Virginia also established its CEDAR program three years ago.

“The interest is clear when you look at the projects that incorporate stickers, interviews and company-logo items from various operators and coal vendors,” she said.

Robertson said that, despite recent volatility in the industry, the need for electricity was still strong and the longstanding efforts of its cooperatives such as the 60-year-old TVMI helped the industry take it all in its stride.

“Our membership varies from year to year, but our members and our industry know that this country's energy mix has to have coal in the mix to be realistic and practical,” she said.

“Fifty-two per cent of the energy mix cannot be replaced overnight and after the storms in the upper eastern states left people without power for seven to eight days, their irrational behaviour was a good indication of what would happen in our cities if people were challenged to survive without electrical power.”

The greatest benefit of all the group’s events and mission?

“Knowledge,” said Robertson.

“We have got to start tooting our own horn more. If we keep educating about coal and the positive benefits of coal, maybe – just maybe – we can overcome some of the negative information.

“As long as our country needs electricity, coal will remain to be an important part of the future.”