October 17th, 2017 by WCBC Radio

When county administrators from across Maryland convened for a conference recently in Garrett and Allegany counties- Allegany County Commissioner Creade Brodie Jr made sure they left with an understanding of how important the coal mining industry remains in the region. The coal industries numbers are on the rise in 2017, in an abrupt departure from last year's record global decline for the heavily polluting fuel and a setback to efforts to rein in climate change emissions. Mining data reviewed by The Associated Press show that production is up by at least 121 million tons, or 6 percent, for the three countries compared to the same period last year. The change is most dramatic in the U.S., where coal mining rose 19 percent in the first five months of the year, according to U.S. Department of Energy data. Brodie said coal mining is the backbone of the economy for this region…