Not necessarily a 30-year window, and we aren't talking about the coal industry going bankrupt overnight, either. If the cap-and-trade system means no new coal plants can be built, that won't destroy the coal industry, it will simply limit its growth. New plants can be built NOW using existing technology to generate solar or wind power. There's no reason not to do that, instead of building new coal-fired plants, to meet new energy demand.

Whatever the window of time is for a complete overhaul of our energy economy, the same timeline exists for the phase-out and obsolescence of the coal industry. The one won't happen before the other does.