In the long term,
shutting down a
coal mine means
cleaner air and a
healthier
environment
— but in the
short term, it can
devastate a
community
(more)
In the long term, shutting down a coal mine means cleaner air and a healthier environment — but in the short term, it can devastate a community or family that relied on the mine's paychecks to make ends meet. Environmental justice advocate Payton M. Wilkins thinks we can protect both workers and the planet with an age-old solution: unions. He digs into the economic fallout of ditching fossil fuels and shows why unions are well-positioned to push the transition to clean energy and green jobs.