This editorial is from 2007, not 1877: “ First Things First: Let’s Mine the Coal.” Maybe there’s something to the inbreeding jokes …

We can talk about windmills, solar panels and biomass, and they undoubtedly are in our future. But those energy sources cannot meet the nation’s growing energy demands now or in the foreseeable future. Nuclear energy may take on an expanded role, but not everyone will welcome it.

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Our leaders must step up and tell the nation the truth: We need coal. It must remain a major source for electricity, and it certainly could and should be a source for motor fuels.

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