Kentuckians understand that coal keeps the light on in the commonwealth , satisfying 93% of our electricity needs.

Many of us have even heard about the way coal is powering the industrial growth and westernization of China and India's economies. This year, India generated 55% of its electricity from coal while the increasing demand for cheap energy in China resulted in a traffic jam 75 miles long while trucks were transporting in the natural resource from out of country.

But did you know that even "environmentally correct" Europe is turning to coal for its energy needs? According to the New York Times, one reason for this is that as the process of hydraulic fracturing causes the price of natural gas to fall in the states, American coal miners are instead exporting their product to a friendlier market in Europe - a continent hungry for energy sources cheaper than those  of unreliable wind or solar.

All this is good news for Kentucky, the state which produces the third most coal in the nation.

Still, a second term for those "serving" in the Environmental Protection Agency is liable to snuff out the economic boom European demand for our most valuable natural resource could bring to the Bluegrass State.

The states require more serious weapons to battle the juggernaut that is the EPA and their war on energy sovereignty. Over the next few days, we'll bring you some ideas for where those weapons just might come from. Stay tuned.