These displaced coal miners are finding new, greener work in beekeeping

Do coal miners really love mining coal—and therefore, advocate to keep coal mines open? Or is it that they need the income that coal mining gives them to support themselves and their families? For most miners, the latter is the truth, but as more coal mines across the country shut down despite a certain president’s support for coal, more miners are losing their source of income. This is a sad truth that comes with transitioning away from fossil fuels, but it doesn’t have to have a sad ending. 

Across the country, there are many initiatives aimed at helping coal miners find new work. In West Virginia, for instance, many displaced coal miners are finding work in a new trade: beekeeping. As a part of a program run by the Appalachian Beekeeping Collective, former coal miners in 17 different counties are being given the chance to learn the in’s…
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