Automation in coal mining has increased productivity and reduced employment in the industry. In an early scene from the Oscar-winning “Harlan County U.S.A.,” a piece of technology is shown swallowing coal miners by the dozen. One after the other, we see helmeted workers merge their prone bodies with a conveyor belt that carries them like a line of sausages into the depths. Nearly five decades later, we know technology not only swallowed the miners; it would swallow their jobs.
The transition to cleaner energy has closed a lot of coal-fired power plants since 1976, when “Harlan County” was released. While […]
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