first they mine coal, then they mine your pocket, neither resource will replenish in the near term.

I am exercising an idea I will use at the state house when I go to haunt the halls and talk with the industry shills as they try again to damage clean energy through legislation.  .........

37 states import coal into their state.  A $19.4 billion annual cost to consumers to generate electricity.

 You should understand that these billions are being mined from your state from you, by the mining companies.  Just like they tear the tops off mountains they tear the money out of towns, money that could feed people, grow schools and start businesses.
 Except for West Virginia Kentucky and Wyoming few states make more than a few bucks on coal.  The billions don't do much good for those states either. Where ever there is coal their is abject poverty and stress and ill health.
In the central US states where more energy is generated by wind, farmers get royalties of several thousand a year off each turbine, the counties also get payments, and there are a few high paying jobs scattered in rural areas to service the turbines.  Rather than shipping money out of state for dirty fuel it stays home where it's put back into the community.  Recycled by us.

What I am saying is part of your utility money either goes out of state for smokey old coal, or it could stay near home paying locals for clean energy.

ALEC is making another run at repealing the agreement my state (and about 25 others) had with utilities to invest in wind and solar.  ALEC and the fossil fuel industry want to destroy these agreements to protect that pipeline of cash into their pockets.

What has dirty ole king coal done lately:
Train wrecks, Fly ash containment pond spills, mountain top removal, black lung, run away barges hitting bridges, dirty sky, cheat on tonnage mined payments on government land, fought EPA rules, automated and beat down wages at the same time, used bankruptcy court to dodge liability for deaths, and just this week polluted 300,000 peoples water in West Virginia with a chemical that is unregulated.