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Photographer Says He Lost His Job After Leaking Pictures Of Rick Perry And Coal CEO

Robert Murray of Murray Energy (right) meets with Energy Secretary Rick Perry at the Department of Energy headquarters in Washington in a March 29, 2017, photo obtained by The Associated Press. Simon Edelman/AP hide caption

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Simon Edelman/AP

The Two-Way

Photographer Says He Lost His Job After Leaking Pictures Of Rick Perry And Coal CEO

Former Department of Energy photographer Simon Edelman is filing a federal whistleblower suit after he leaked the photos of a private meeting between the energy secretary and Robert Murray.

As Coal Jobs Decline, Solar Sector Shines

A work crew for the Pittsburgh company Energy Independent Solutions installs solar panels at a community building in Millvale, Pa. Reid Frazier/The Allegheny Front hide caption

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Reid Frazier/The Allegheny Front

Economy

As Coal Jobs Decline, Solar Sector Shines

The loss of jobs has stung as the coal industry has declined. Renewable power — especially solar — is now where the jobs are. Solar jobs outnumber those in coal, but coal jobs pay more.

As Coal Jobs Decline, Solar Sector Shines

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Big Business Pushes Coal-Friendly Kentucky To Embrace Renewables

Kevin Butt, Toyota's regional environmental sustainability director, at a facility that uses methane to generate clean electricity to help run Toyota's auto plant in central Kentucky. Jennifer Ludden/NPR hide caption

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Jennifer Ludden/NPR

Environment And Energy Collaborative

Big Business Pushes Coal-Friendly Kentucky To Embrace Renewables

Nearly 90 percent of Kentucky's electricity is from coal — the cheap energy source that helped build its manufacturing economy. Now it's struggling to respond as more businesses want clean energy.

Big Business Pushes Coal-Friendly Kentucky To Embrace Renewables

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How's The New President Doing? Voters In One Trump County Talk

Johnstown, Pa., nestled in the Allegheny mountains, has more registered Democrats than Republicans, but has voted Republican in the last two presidential elections. Acacia Squires/NPR hide caption

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Acacia Squires/NPR

Politics

How's The New President Doing? Voters In One Trump County Talk

Two weeks into Trump's presidency, we talk voters in Johnstown, Pa., about what they're thinking. The industrial city in the western part of the state voted overwhelmingly for Trump.

How's The New President Doing? Voters In One Trump County Talk

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A Trump Swing Voter Looks Ahead

Jamie Ruppert and her husband Jesse Ruppert live in White Haven, Pa. Jamie voted for Barack Obama twice but switched parties and voted for Republican Donald Trump this election. She hopes Trump will bring more good-paying blue-collar jobs to communities like hers. Jeff Brady/NPR hide caption

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Jeff Brady/NPR

Kitchen Table Conversations

A Trump Swing Voter Looks Ahead

Voters in Pennsylvania's Luzerne County have reliably picked Democrats for president — until now. Jamie Ruppert is among those blue-collar, working-class voters who switched parties to vote Trump.

A Trump Swing Voter Looks Ahead

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Coal Country Picked Trump. Now, It Wants Him To Keep His Promises

President-elect Donald Trump's promises to bring back miner jobs and open mines appealed to many voters in coal country. Dominick Reuter/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Dominick Reuter/AFP/Getty Images

Energy

Coal Country Picked Trump. Now, It Wants Him To Keep His Promises

Voters in coal country overwhelmingly chose Donald Trump. They liked his promises to create jobs, even if they didn't like his other rhetoric. Now, they're waiting to see if coal can make a comeback.

Eastern Kentucky Tries To Keep Former Coal Miners From Leaving

Former coal miners are trained as linesmen in a program co-sponsored by the Hazard Community and Technical College and the Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program in Hazard, Ky. EKCEP Inc. hide caption

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EKCEP Inc.

Economy

Eastern Kentucky Tries To Keep Former Coal Miners From Leaving

For a long time, coal was king in eastern Kentucky. But the industry today is hemorrhaging jobs. The region is now struggling to rebuild its economy and find new jobs for unemployed miners.

Eastern Kentucky Tries To Keep Former Coal Miners From Leaving

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U.S. Coal Giant Peabody Energy Files For Bankruptcy

In 2006, a bulldozer sits ready for work at Peabody Energy's Gateway Coal Mine near Coulterville, Ill. Peabody is the latest coal company to declare bankruptcy. Seth Perlman/AP hide caption

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Seth Perlman/AP

The Two-Way

U.S. Coal Giant Peabody Energy Files For Bankruptcy

As the coal industry struggles with falling prices, weak Chinese demand, regulatory changes and competition from fracking, St. Louis-based Peabody has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

March 25: Bankruptcies Fuel Uncertainty In Coal Communities

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When Coal Companies Fail, Who Pays For The Cleanup?

Reclaimed land that was once mined for coal in Wyoming's Powder River Basin. When coal companies declare bankruptcy, funding for land reclamation becomes a question Leigh Paterson/Inside Energy hide caption

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Leigh Paterson/Inside Energy

Energy

When Coal Companies Fail, Who Pays For The Cleanup?

The U.S. coal industry is fading. As more companies declare bankruptcy, they may not be able to pay for land restoration projects — and taxpayers could be left with the cleanup bill.

When Coal Companies Fail, Who Pays For The Cleanup?

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