Excellent piece. The identity argument is the most underappreciated part of the coal story.
From the investment side, I'd note that this same "refusal to die" dynamic plays out globally — seaborne coal demand from Asia keeps hitting new highs even as Western markets retreat. The energy transition is far less linear than most people assume. I explore these kinds of supply-demand disconnects in energy and commodity markets .
It feels like recently I've been seeing the glorification of the identity argument not just with coal but with blue-collar and manual labor jobs in general, especially among right-wing political circles. I'm not saying there's necessarily anything wrong with that (I'm blue collar myself) but young people need to be aware of the risks of manual labor jobs. They're a lot safer than previous generations but they still take a much greater toll on your body than white collar jobs (and in many cases they still pay less) even if the toll isn't felt until much later in adulthood.
Basically, it's a buggy whip industry in 2026. However small the profits are, there is nothing to replace it and the identity is generations deep. Excellent analysis - most people never think of identity and culture, but it matters tremendously.
Excellent piece. The identity argument is the most underappreciated part of the coal story.
From the investment side, I'd note that this same "refusal to die" dynamic plays out globally — seaborne coal demand from Asia keeps hitting new highs even as Western markets retreat. The energy transition is far less linear than most people assume. I explore these kinds of supply-demand disconnects in energy and commodity markets .
It feels like recently I've been seeing the glorification of the identity argument not just with coal but with blue-collar and manual labor jobs in general, especially among right-wing political circles. I'm not saying there's necessarily anything wrong with that (I'm blue collar myself) but young people need to be aware of the risks of manual labor jobs. They're a lot safer than previous generations but they still take a much greater toll on your body than white collar jobs (and in many cases they still pay less) even if the toll isn't felt until much later in adulthood.
Basically, it's a buggy whip industry in 2026. However small the profits are, there is nothing to replace it and the identity is generations deep. Excellent analysis - most people never think of identity and culture, but it matters tremendously.
Thanks for this!
I'm pretty sure China and India are buying and burning lots of coal. That's where most of it is going.
LOL, I didn't know they had plastic milk jugs back in 1929.
(that photo isn't from 1929).