About Jamie Van Nostrand

Why I Wrote The Coal Trap

My book, The Coal Trap, reflects the implications of West Virginia’s close identity with the coal industry, and how that dynamic has adversely affected the state’s path forward. My book focuses on the years 2009 through 2019 – a period I refer to as “the lost decade” – and describes how political leaders in West Virginia were caught in the coal trap: they failed to address the realities of the inevitable and permanent decline in the fortunes of the coal industry and neglected to provide the leadership necessary to manage the transition of the state’s economic drivers away from coal. Instead, at every turn during the “lost decade,” the interests of the coal industry were placed above the economic and environmental well-being of West Virginia’s citizens.

The better I got to know West Virginians since arriving in the state in 2011 – and the more I came to respect their character, industriousness and resilience – the more outraged I became about the consequences of failed political leadership. These consequences include the harmful impacts on West Virginians’ current quality of life and the threats to their opportunity to enjoy what could – and should – be a brighter future of economic prosperity and a healthy environment. Quite simply, it didn’t need to turn out this way; it could have been far better if political leaders had provided leadership during “the lost decade,” and positioned the state to participate in the clean energy revolution that is rewarding the rest of the country with vast economic and environmental benefits. It just wasn’t right, and I had to say something about it. The result is this book.