I remember the "acid rain" scares that killed a lot of midwest coal mining. My family was one of the ones greatly impacted by the shutdowns. I'm the oldest on my Dad's side not to work in a coal mine.
If you really want to have a hard time growing crops, have soil that is too alkaline.
I do find the unintended consequences to be ironic, though.
Some coal mines are shutting down. Equipment is sold off for dimes on the dollar. Those jobs have been lost, and now more bad results.
I'm the only one in my family in the energy sector.
