Yesterday the UK had a full day without needing any coal based energy. This was the first time since the 1880s.
Now they still will need coal for a while but the switch to less polluting sources is moving faster than predicted and the change is going to be good for the economy, good for the earth, good for the children.
It will displace some coal miners.
Coal mining was a rich part of some of Britain's history, especially in the heavy mining parts but it permeated much of their culture.
It was a dirty, oppressive job which inspired unions, protests and the image of the gritty coal miner working hard to support his family under dangerous conditions.
It did provide a wage for many and spurred development in those districts which are now diminishing as the need for coal decreases.
It is of course a natural economic cycle, the growth boom years, the steady production years and now the decline.
What was viewed as a way of life was really in the scheme of history a temporary blip, but which viewed in the span of human lifespans a long tradition.
Like all those things, it is better in the remembering than it was in the doing.
Mining coal is a dirty back breaking job with serious health issues involved which led to the early death of many and which, while powering England's Industrial Revolution, also polluted the air and led to health problems for those breathing the polluted air.
Seeing it fade away should be a cause of celebration, although of course the coal miners are losing jobs.
The free market and common sense has doomed coal, lets let it die honorably.
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