The Jonah Natural Gas Field in the Upper Green River Basin. Wyoming made a big gamble on fossil fuel energy development as a job creator and source of revenue for the state. But its %22all of the above%22 approach promoting both gas development and coal production backfired when market forces%2C driven by a glut of cheap gas%2C caused coal prices to spiral. Some coal-fired power plants retrofitted to burn gas and coal companies in Wyoming declared bankruptcy. In reality%2C Wyoming isn%27t reeling from %22a war on coal%22 by environmentalists but being torpedoed by supply-side economics. The chances that the state%27s fortunes will recover don%27t look good any time soon. Photo courtesy Ecoflight %28ecoflight.org%29
The Jonah Natural Gas Field in the Upper Green River Basin. Wyoming made a big gamble on fossil fuel energy development as a job creator and source of revenue for the state. But its %22all of the above%22 approach promoting both gas development and coal production backfired when market forces%2C driven by a glut of cheap gas%2C caused coal prices to spiral. Some coal-fired power plants retrofitted to burn gas and coal companies in Wyoming declared bankruptcy. In reality%2C Wyoming isn%27t reeling from %22a war on coal%22 by environmentalists but being torpedoed by supply-side economics. The chances that the state%27s fortunes will recover don%27t look good any time soon. Photo courtesy Ecoflight %28ecoflight.org%29