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 "all of the above" approach promoting both gas development and coal production backfired when  market forces, driven by a glut of cheap gas, caused coal prices to spiral. Some coal-fired power plants retrofitted to burn gas and coal companies in Wyoming declared bankruptcy. In reality, Wyoming isn't reeling from "a war on coal" by environmentalists but being torpedoed by supply-side economics. The chances that the state's fortunes will recover don't look good any time soon. Photo courtesy Ecoflight (ecoflight.org)
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 "all of the above" approach promoting both gas development and coal production backfired when market forces, driven by a glut of cheap gas, caused coal prices to spiral. Some coal-fired power plants retrofitted to burn gas and coal companies in Wyoming declared bankruptcy. In reality, Wyoming isn't reeling from "a war on coal" by environmentalists but being torpedoed by supply-side economics. The chances that the state's fortunes will recover don't look good any time soon. Photo courtesy Ecoflight (ecoflight.org)