PJNC Sea Grant 



5 



iDrary 



February, 1982 



A/. 



ft 



COAST 'WATCH 



Here comes coal 



It all began when the Arab oil 

 producers doubled their prices in 

 1979. Suddenly Europe wanted to 

 burn coal in its power plants. The 

 demand for American coal grew 

 huge, and coal ships waited 

 months in line off Newport News 

 and Hampton Roads, the big coal- 

 handling centers of the East. 



Almost overnight , coal com- 

 panies began rushing to stake 

 claims on new coal-terminal sites. 



North Carolina was among the 

 first places they looked. The state 

 was near enough to the coal fields 

 of Appalachia. There was already 

 one deep-water port. The climate 

 was mild, so coal wouldn 't freeze 

 on the docks during winter. By 

 May, 1981 , one company was ready 

 to ship coal from Morehead city. 

 Others were standing in line to 

 buy land and file permits. 



State officials called coal the 

 "salvation" of the Morehead City 

 port, which operated in the black 

 for the first time since 1967. 

 Federal officials lauded the in- 

 dustry for its role in helping with 

 the balance of trade. 



But while some sang coal's 

 praises, others sang the blues. 

 Citizens groups began to protest 

 the prospects of coal trains and 

 coal dust in their towns. Then, 

 late in 1981, the European coal 

 market weakened and coal's 

 bright picture clouded. Would the 

 whole coal boom vanish in a cloud 

 of dust? 



This month, Coastwatch ex- 

 amines the coal export industry in 

 North Carolina, and its effect on 

 the coast. 



Photo by Steven Wilson 



A coal train rumbles across the Piedmont on its way to the coast 



