Resource powers debate: All-day campus event aims to educate friends, foes of coal

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­­By Tilly Finley

With last week’s approval of the “Wildcat Coal Lodge,” members of the UK community have got coal on the mind.

UK will host “A Forum on Coal in Kentucky,” as the kickoff event for a documentary being developed by the Center for Visualization and Virtual Environments. The event will explore both sides of the issues concerning the past, present and future of coal in Kentucky.

The keynote speakers are Senior Vice President of Government Relations of Peabody Energy Fred Palmer; Director of Kentucky Resources Council Tom Fitzgerald; author of “Big Coal” Jeff Goodell; and Joe Craft, president and CEO of Alliance Resource Partners, L.P., and main donor to the “Wildcat Coal Lodge.” The speakers will focus on issues including coal economics, the impact of coal, coal research and coal regulations.

The goal of the event is to offer a balanced discussion by bringing together a wide variety of speakers that might not otherwise share the same stage, said Julie Martinez, technical communications specialist at the Center for Visualization and Virtual Environments.

“My hope for the event is that students, as well as other attendees, will leave the event with a much greater understanding of the variety of perspectives that exist on this issue and the motivation to learn more and engage with the issue,” Martinez said.

The forum, as well as the documentary, was made possible through a $145,000 grant the Kentucky Cabinet for Energy and Environment awarded UK.

Steven Gardner, president and CEO of Engineering Consulting Services, Inc. and chairman of UK’s Mining Engineering Foundation, was among those who helped write the grant.

“Our mission was to organize a forum presenting both sides of the issue … such as giving workers in the (coal) community a chance to respond,” Gardner said. “To my knowledge, there has never been a balanced discussion on campus on the subject before.”

Brad Luttrell, former editor-in-chief of the Kernel and winner of the Associated Collegiate Press’ 2009 Feature Story of the Year for a story about coal in Kentucky’s Appalachian region, will also speak at the event.
Luttrell said what became most evident to him during his research for the story was no real absolutes exist with coal mining.

“It’s foolish to be absolutely pro-coal and not be hopeful that we can start utilizing green energy and stop filling in streams and creating so much wasteland in Appalachia,” Luttrell said. “But it’s also foolish to expect these coal companies to be the ones to start using wind and solar, because that’s going to put them out of business. Our state is the third leading producer of coal in the country, so we have to step up and take part in the conversation, and this forum is a great step toward an answer for the future of coal.”