David Murphy is an assistant professor of environmental studies at St. Lawrence University.

By David Murphy, Special to syracuse.com

President Trump last week signed an executive order to erase President Barack Obama's climate-change programs in an effort to enhance the coal industry domestically. With the order, he ignores the science behind climate change. And, if the legal process is completed, coal-fired power plants will continue to operate and a new generation of them will get the green light.

But the president also is ignoring the economics of energy. The biggest destroyer of coal over the past 10 years has been cheap natural gas. Reducing regulation and allowing for more natural-gas production will, ironically, only increase that trend, further destroying coal prospects

Even more, the solar industry employs more than four times as many people as the coal industry nationwide -- despite only generating 1 percent of the nation's electricity. Can you imagine how many people could be employed if we invested in solar? Why are people not talking about that?

Also not being discussed is the fact that not all energy jobs are equal.

Coal mining is extremely tough, and given the danger involved, very poorly compensated work. And coal companies themselves have a terrible track record of looking out for their worker safety. Consider the case of former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship, who, in 2015, was convicted of conspiracy to violate federal mine-safety laws

People want jobs, but if they were given a choice between working at the face of a coal mine, 400 feet underground in a 4-foot-high space for eight hours a day, or going to a factory to produce Li-ion batteries or solar panels, or perhaps providing maintenance on wind turbines or solar installations, I think it is a safe bet that most people would prefer one of those latter options for obvious reasons. This is particularly true in Appalachia -- the coal country so beloved by Trump -- where the many mines are underground, the most dangerous, and a long way from being healthy work environments.

Let's be clear, though, coal is here for a good long while. The Unites States generates roughly 30 percent of its power from coal, and that won't disappear overnight. But its role will diminish regardless of any policy rollbacks that the Trump administration puts forth. Market forces are at work here.

Consider Duke Energy, one of the nation's largest utilities. A decade ago, Duke Energy had more than 60 percent of its power generation in coal; today that number is closer to 30 percent. That is an enormous shift, considering that companies like this are huge, and thus have a significant impact on our nation's energy mix. Moreover, Duke and others are planning to continue this shift away from coal and toward gas and renewables.

The polarity of this discussion is starkly unnerving. The president has set this up as a "coal or nothing" issue, when that does not need to be the situation at all.

Rust belt towns throughout the Northeast are figuring out ways to reshape themselves as the traditional factory positions keep leaving. For example, SolarCity just built a new factory in Buffalo, and Albany is focusing on nanotech and other 21st-century technologies.

The moves by Trump to roll back climate policy to promote the coal industry represent backsliding in terms of environmental stewardship and economic reality. The net effect globally of all these rollbacks will be to position China as the leader in terms of both climate-change mitigation and renewable energy development, as they have remained committed to the Paris Agreement and have decided to invest $360 billion in renewable energy over the next few years.

Coal miners need jobs -- that is not disputed. But why not invest in industries that have bright futures, where market forces are pointing?

If Trump really cares for coal miners then he should focus on investments in job training to position those workers for growth industries, like solar, wind, and natural gas. That would be forward looking. That would encourage business to relocate to those areas. That is what will promote a vibrant Appalachia.