Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship addresses the National Press Club at a luncheon, July 22, 2010. Mr. Blankenship discussed the need to increase surface mining of coal in order to meet the nation’s energy requirements.

The United States faces increasing loss of jobs if it continues to impose regulations of dubious merit on the nation’s business and industrial sector, Don Blankenship, chairman and CEO of Massey Energy Co., said at a July 22 National Press Club Luncheon.

He spoke in the face of wide criticism of his company over the April 5 explosion at Massey’s Upper Big Branch coal mine in West Virginia that killed 29 miners. It was the worst such disaster since the 1970 explosion killing 38 miners in Hyden, Ky. But his opening remarks were directed at the U.S. government’s massive debt, which he said could cause it to fail “if it continues to bleed that way.”

Blankenship warned against saddling business and industry, including coal mines, with more regulations that he said are often counter-productive, costing jobs at home and sending many overseas.
“People are losing jobs because of environmental extremism,” he said, adding that the focus should be on making business more productive rather than on “political correctness. We are trying to get sensible behavior in Washington.”

He defended coal mining, saying it played a major role in giving Americans the quality of life and extended lifespans they enjoy. Moreover, he said, “coal is 70 percent cleaner today than it was 30 years ago.”

The government’s mounting debt comes at a time when “1.3 billion people in the world exist on less than a dollar a day,” he said. “We can forget them if we don’t see them. Millions die of preventable diseases.”

The native West Virginian, who worked in the mines as a young man, said Massey tries to make its mines as safe as possible. “Coal mining in central Appalachia is difficult,” he declared. “We have spent tens of millions of dollars on safety.”

A 1972 accounting graduate of Marshall University, Blankenship received the school’s “Most Distinguished Alumni” award and was inducted into the Lewis College of Business Hall of Fame in 1999.

In the question-answer period, he told how he was “with families (of explosion victims) every night — 25 of the 29 families — and didn’t sleep for two or three days” after the April 5 disaster. “We are trying everything we can to see that it won’t happen again.” He said the company is “very focused on improving the ventilation (in the mine).”

But the 60-year-old executive warned new regulations could be harmful. He said Massey hires only the best engineers from the best schools and suggested they were often better than the government inspectors. He contrasted U.S. mines with those in China, which are relatively free of regulations.

Blankenship said he lives near the Upper Big Branch mine in a 106-year-old house he figures is worth around $250,000.

– Bob Webb, rewebb@aol.com

Reposted from The National Press Club

A protestor at a rally outside the National Press Club

Demonstrators disguised as journalists disrupt Blankenship's speech during a luncheon at The National Press Club.

Demonstrators disguised as journalists disrupt Blankenship's speech during a luncheon at The National Press Club.

Demonstrators disguised as journalists disrupt Blankenship's speech during a luncheon at The National Press Club.

Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship addresses the National Press Club at a luncheon, July 22, 2010.

Protestors outside the National Press Club calling for Massey Energy CEO to be held accountable for the April 5, 2010 Upper Big Branch mine explosion that killed 29 miners.

These images have never been shared with the public. I had only taken them for myself to remember that day. Most people remember exactly what they were doing that morning, where they were, and how they were reacting as the events unfolded. I was a college student who had lived in New York City for nearly a year and was getting ready to make the commute from Brooklyn to Manhattan. I never made that commute. I remember sitting in my living room that morning listening to the radio with a feeling of deep disbelief and helplessness. The pictures you see below were my attempts to come to grips with reality. Unlike those who witnessed the collapse in person or on television, I was instead confronted with ashes in my face, smoke, and burnt pages of paper floating down like feathers to the ground. The experience wasn’t “like a movie,” something I have heard repeated by detached witnesses over and over. For me, it was the closest I had ever come to mass destruction and death and I was forever moved by that sight.

It is difficult to forget the day of September 11, 2001 when much of what is going on today is in some way a consequence of the occurrences of that day. From the emotionally impacted individual to the drastic reactionary measures in foreign and domestic policy, the character of this country has changed for better and for worse. When historians in the future attempt to trace the roots of this change, this day will surely be marked a turning point.

]]> http://www.waynehuang.net/2009/09/september-11-2001/feed/ 0 http://www.waynehuang.net/2009/08/town-hall-with-rep-adam-schiff/ http://www.waynehuang.net/2009/08/town-hall-with-rep-adam-schiff/#comments Mon, 10 Aug 2009 23:09:36 +0000 Wayne http://www.waynehuang.net/2009/08/1073/ ]]> ]]> http://www.waynehuang.net/2009/08/town-hall-with-rep-adam-schiff/feed/ 0 http://www.waynehuang.net/2009/07/ensenada-the-makers-and-pushers-of-a-tourism-economy/ http://www.waynehuang.net/2009/07/ensenada-the-makers-and-pushers-of-a-tourism-economy/#comments Sun, 26 Jul 2009 02:45:51 +0000 Wayne http://www.waynehuang.net/?p=884 ]]> ]]> http://www.waynehuang.net/2009/07/ensenada-the-makers-and-pushers-of-a-tourism-economy/feed/ 0 http://www.waynehuang.net/2009/06/iran-election-protest-in-irvine-california/ http://www.waynehuang.net/2009/06/iran-election-protest-in-irvine-california/#comments Fri, 26 Jun 2009 14:59:44 +0000 Wayne http://www.waynehuang.net/?p=797 June 25, 2009 – Iranians of Orange County rally at Irvine City Hall to make their voices heard and to show solidarity and support for the uprising in Tehran.]]>

June 25, 2009 – Iranians of Orange County rally at Irvine City Hall to make their voices heard and to show solidarity and support for the uprising in Tehran.