Q: How many jobs are associated with mountaintop removal mining in Appalachia? How has that number changed in recent decades relative to how much coal is produced in the region?

As discussed in the post on Bank of America, restricting a query to Central Appalachian strip mining production provides an excellent approximation of mountaintop removal coal production (the same is true for employment).

A column chart (rather than a pie chart, table, etc.) should be selected as the view option. This is true of any query that seeks to view change across time. Additionally, the query should be sorted by a time unit, in this case, by year.

Here is a sample graphic of Central Appalachian strip mine employment generated using the Open Source Coal database and graphing tools:

Click image to view an interactive chart, or click here to see how the query was performed using the Coal Production Datafinder on Open Source Coal.

And here is a graphic of Central Appalachian strip mine production:

Click image to view an interactive chart, or click here to see how the query was performed using the Coal Production Datafinder on Open Source Coal.

Also, the answers to these two questions can be illustrated by a single graphic, one that charts both employment and production data across time. Here is a sample graphic of both employment and production in Central Appalachian strip mines generated using the Open Source Coal database and graphing tools:

Click image to view an interactive chart, or click here to see how the query was performed using the Coal Production Datafinder on Open Source Coal.

Q: Utilities across the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic have successfully argued to state utilities commissions that coal represents the most affordable fuel choice with a record of price stability. Has the price of coal increased or decreased in recent years? How have price fluctuations compared with those of other energy sources?

So far, we have been able to provide weekly spot market price estimates, courtesy of the Energy Information Administration, for 5 different coal regions between July of 2000 up to within the last few weeks. We will soon be adding the capability to adjust for inflation, but currently these prices are not adjusted. Here’s an example of how prices have varied over the past 8 years for Central Appalachian coal:

Click image to view an interactive chart, or click here to see how the query was performed using the Coal Price Datafinder on Open Source Coal.

Of course, it’s not only Central Appalachian coal that has been increasing in recent years – here’s a similar image of Powder River Basin coal prices:

Click image to view an interactive chart, or click here to see how the query was performed using the Coal Price Datafinder on Open Source Coal.

Now, Open Source Coal has the capability to graph multiple regions on the same line graph. The following example shows the fluctuations in the price of coal in all US coal mining regions. (In the graph above, the Powder River Basin shows dramatic spikes and dips–sometimes more than a 300% change in the course of a year. However, these swings do not show up so clearly when graphed with the other regions. The much higher price of some of the coal regions requires the scale of the graph to be larger; therefore, the fluctuations in the lower-priced coal regions do not appear as dramatic.)

Click image to view an interactive chart, or click here to see how the query was performed using the Coal Price Datafinder on Open Source Coal.

Finally, Open Source Coal is now able to graph the estimated price of renewable energy along with some of the regions. Here’s an example of the cost of estimated wind, biomass, and efficiency graphed with price of Central Appalachian coal:

Click image to view an interactive chart, or click here to see how the query was performed using the Coal Price Datafinder on Open Source Coal.