To see how much coal has decreased in power generation: http://tinyurl.com/kmtadrm
And, the good news of this is coal remains where it is as long as we might want, to mine, distribute and use as and when things change.
But, the coal mined in West Virginia is not used only for power generation. It is another type, 4-5 times as expensive due to costs of removing/transport, and it yields higher BTU; referred to as "met coal" for metallurgical coal in steel production.
To see what Froma writes about in mountaintop removal simply look at "West Virginia" in Google Maps, http://tinyurl.com/lot8vdh, and zoom in on the blotches of not green. Amazing! And, one area is "Majestic, WV". Clever Froma!
But, Germany is not a great example anymore, they're enroute to burning brown coal, which is very nasty environmentally, http://tinyurl.com/ox9ryz5. Ouch!
And 80,000 is not a tiny number of humans, so, what 21st century answers might you have for them Froma?