West Virginia Lawmakers vs EPA

The following link is to a letter sent out by the WV State Democratic Committee to Gina McCarthy, EPA Director, complaining about excessive regulations of the coal industry.  Following the link is my response to their letter..
It is rather timely considering the recent disastrous chemical spill in Charleston.

http://www.wvdemocrats.com/documents/DemocraticPartyLedDelegationLettertoEPA11-12-13.pdf

B-b-but, what about clean air and clean water, global warming and climate change, environmental degradation, and public health?  All of which I thought were issues dear to the hearts of [progressive] Democrats.   There is no “War on Coal,” it is a “War on Dirty Air and Dirty Water.”  You, all of you, know as well as I that the tens of thousands of coal mining jobs lost in the last few decades have been in large part a result of mechanization, including the replacing of underground mining with mountaintop removal, which uses huge machines in lieu of many bodies to mine the coal. [Almost level, West Virginia]  And as well a result of the phasing out of ancient, dirty coal-fired power plants in favor of cheaper and cleaner natural gas-fired power plants.   Other business and economic factors and decisions play a part, with pollution regulations a comparatively small part. 

I have been watching with increasing alarm the way our state Democrats go hand-in-glove with the attorney general in taking on the federal government--making war on the EPA, President Obama, the Democratic Caucus, and any other entity they see as threatening the coal industry.  And make no mistake, the way I see it, it is the coal industry, not the coal miners, that our Democrats seek to protect.   Every person who declares h/h self a candidate for public office hastens to issue a statement declaring their intention to go to war with, fight to the death with, the White House, the EPA, the Democratic caucus.   How will Natalie Tennant distinguish herself from Shelley Moore Capito in the race for the U. S. Senate?  How will Glen Gainer, Nick Casey, Meshea Poore, and Nick Rahall distinguish themselves from their Republican opponents in their races for their respective congressional seats?  Can anyone tell me how it is that our state with its vaunted natural resources wealth ranks among the poorest states in the country, with the worst health statistics, the lowest life expectancy, the highest drug addiction rate?  Where has all that wealth gone?