CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- Coal has been a part of the lives of West Virginians since it was discovered in Boone County back in 1742, more than one hundred years before West Virginia was even a state.

Dr. Tom Witt is an economics professor at West Virginia State University. He is in Charleston this week for a mining symposium and joined WSAZ live during First at Five.

Dr. Witt discussed the impacts of coal in the mountain state, particularly on the economy.

"The way we measure the coal economy, we found over 63,000 jobs were associated with the economy," Dr. Witt said. "The firms in that economy basically were generating $721million of state and local tax revenue in 2008, which is a significant part of state and local budgets."

His full interview is available in the attached video.