Centralia is in Washington State, where Jay Inslee is the governor. He’s billed himself as the climate change candidate, and has pushed for leading-edge anti-CC policy here. Might we worth really digging into the politics and budget of the state to look for explanations. It might be that he’s informed by environmental lobbying groups like the Sierra Club. If coal seam fires are off their radar, then it might never get seen by state government.
Overall, I’d recommend thinking about cause of neglect both from the standpoint of public bias and institutional chain of transmission.
A top Google hit for “extinguish coal seam fires” says the gov paid $42 million to relocate Centralians when their early attempts to put it out failed. That suggests to me that they had a much higher estimate than you about the cost of putting it out.
Centralia is in Washington State, where Jay Inslee is the governor. He’s billed himself as the climate change candidate, and has pushed for leading-edge anti-CC policy here. Might we worth really digging into the politics and budget of the state to look for explanations. It might be that he’s informed by environmental lobbying groups like the Sierra Club. If coal seam fires are off their radar, then it might never get seen by state government.
Overall, I’d recommend thinking about cause of neglect both from the standpoint of public bias and institutional chain of transmission.
A top Google hit for “extinguish coal seam fires” says the gov paid $42 million to relocate Centralians when their early attempts to put it out failed. That suggests to me that they had a much higher estimate than you about the cost of putting it out.
https://blog.globalforestwatch.org/fires/embers-under-the-earth-the-surprising-world-of-coal-seam-fires