A ton of West Virginian coal adds around $30 to GDP.

There’s only one minor flaw with this arithmetic: Once you’ve dug it up, it’s no longer there for the taking tomorrow.

Considering just that simple fact, the ton would only add $15 to GDP. Quite a difference, but one we routinely ignore in our GDP calculations.

Welcome to the wondrous world of creating value from nothing.

None of that even accounts for the fact that getting the coal out of the ground causes black lung disease in miners, or that burning it causes asthma in minors—and rising sea levels to boot.