Thursday, January 14, 2016
Wednesday, January 13, 2016
And, as suggested, executives are basically looting the ship as it goes down "Arch Coal nearly doubled its CEO pay as it lurched to bankruptcy, drawing SEC attention" — Medium
BG: Another St. Louis coal company demonstrates what we have come to label "coal and criminality". There are pending issues of who will cover environmental damages at coal-mining sites, and who will cover workers' health costs, let alone how we might imagine new jobs and new economies in these regions. However, as the company goes into bankruptcy executive salaries are on the rise. Apparently the idea is to take as much as you can while you can; keep burning coal as long as you can; workers and nature be damned. Read for yourself and decide:
Arch Coal nearly doubled its CEO pay as it lurched to bankruptcy, drawing SEC attention — Medium (Joe Smyth, via Medium).
"Arch Coal, the second largest coal mining company in the US, filed for bankruptcy on Monday, raising questions about the company’s reclamation obligations for its massive strip mines, its plans to export coal from the Powder River Basin to Asia, the future of its existing and pending federal coal leases, and more. While Arch Coal sold mines, cut wages, and stopped paying dividends as its fortunes fell, one area it didn’t skimp was executive compensation. In fact, while Arch Coal shareholders (or at least those who failed to divest from the company) have lost out, Arch CEO John Eaves somehow got a big raise as his company was failing — which seems to have earned the attention of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)."
As stock prices plummet, CEO salary on the rise:
Read the rest of the article here: Arch Coal nearly doubled its CEO pay as it lurched to bankruptcy, drawing SEC attention — Medium (Joe Smyth, via Medium).
Arch Coal nearly doubled its CEO pay as it lurched to bankruptcy, drawing SEC attention — Medium (Joe Smyth, via Medium).
"Arch Coal, the second largest coal mining company in the US, filed for bankruptcy on Monday, raising questions about the company’s reclamation obligations for its massive strip mines, its plans to export coal from the Powder River Basin to Asia, the future of its existing and pending federal coal leases, and more. While Arch Coal sold mines, cut wages, and stopped paying dividends as its fortunes fell, one area it didn’t skimp was executive compensation. In fact, while Arch Coal shareholders (or at least those who failed to divest from the company) have lost out, Arch CEO John Eaves somehow got a big raise as his company was failing — which seems to have earned the attention of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)."
As stock prices plummet, CEO salary on the rise:
Read the rest of the article here: Arch Coal nearly doubled its CEO pay as it lurched to bankruptcy, drawing SEC attention — Medium (Joe Smyth, via Medium).
ExxonMobil, Peabody Coal Lobbying for Bill Preventing Climate Change Accounting in US Trade Deals (*corrected 1/13/16)
ICYMI: As world turns to recognize global warming, fossil fuel majors intensifying efforts to maintain the status quo. St Louis' Peabody Coal - whose ex-**CEO sits on the Washington University Board of Trustees – is one of the main culprits. ExxonMobil - now being investigated for misrepresenting their knowledge about global warming – is right there as well.
ExxonMobil, Peabody Coal Lobbying for Bill Preventing Climate Change Accounting in US Trade Deals
**Corrected 1/13/16: I know, Greg Boyce is no longer CEO of Peabody, I say this by force of habit. But he's still on the WUSTL board of trustees, listed as the "Executive Chairman" of Peabody. However, as of 12/31/15 he is said to be "retiring" from Peabody altogether, so will no longer be chairman there either. So maybe he will soon be retiring from the WUSTL board as well. Stay tuned. And yes, I know, the official name of the company is 'Peabody Energy'. But they do not produce energy. They dig up, transport, and sell coal. So let's be clear.
File under: WUSTL Students, know your board of trustees:**More on Steven F. Leer added January 15, 2016.
Additionally, while I used to refer to the 'two coal companies' on the WUSTL board (Arch and Peabody). However, Steven Leer, former Chairman of Arch, is now listed as 'Retired Chairman'. However, Mr. Leer is still deep into carbon. Since he has left Arch, he is a director at Cenovus Energy, one of Canada's biggest tar sands oil producers, which also co-owns the Wood River Refinery, across the river from St. Louis. And, he's a director at Norfolk Southern. The rail, coal, tar sands, and refinery businesses are all interdependent (and huge polluters, but no mind).
So, as corrected, we can say: A representative of the largest coal company in the world sits on the Washington University board of trustees. As does a former CEO of another huge coal company, Arch, who now sits on the board of Cenovus, part of the (high-polluting) Canadian tar sands industry.
As for the coal industry, these companies are heading into bankruptcy and restructuring. As such, and on the defensive, they are involved in increasingly questionable business practices. They are also involved in efforts to undermine policies aimed at ameliorating global warming and the science of global warming itself. If any of this is incorrect, let me know, happy to correct it.
ExxonMobil, Peabody Coal Lobbying for Bill Preventing Climate Change Accounting in US Trade Deals
**Corrected 1/13/16: I know, Greg Boyce is no longer CEO of Peabody, I say this by force of habit. But he's still on the WUSTL board of trustees, listed as the "Executive Chairman" of Peabody. However, as of 12/31/15 he is said to be "retiring" from Peabody altogether, so will no longer be chairman there either. So maybe he will soon be retiring from the WUSTL board as well. Stay tuned. And yes, I know, the official name of the company is 'Peabody Energy'. But they do not produce energy. They dig up, transport, and sell coal. So let's be clear.
File under: WUSTL Students, know your board of trustees:**More on Steven F. Leer added January 15, 2016.
Additionally, while I used to refer to the 'two coal companies' on the WUSTL board (Arch and Peabody). However, Steven Leer, former Chairman of Arch, is now listed as 'Retired Chairman'. However, Mr. Leer is still deep into carbon. Since he has left Arch, he is a director at Cenovus Energy, one of Canada's biggest tar sands oil producers, which also co-owns the Wood River Refinery, across the river from St. Louis. And, he's a director at Norfolk Southern. The rail, coal, tar sands, and refinery businesses are all interdependent (and huge polluters, but no mind).
So, as corrected, we can say: A representative of the largest coal company in the world sits on the Washington University board of trustees. As does a former CEO of another huge coal company, Arch, who now sits on the board of Cenovus, part of the (high-polluting) Canadian tar sands industry.
As for the coal industry, these companies are heading into bankruptcy and restructuring. As such, and on the defensive, they are involved in increasingly questionable business practices. They are also involved in efforts to undermine policies aimed at ameliorating global warming and the science of global warming itself. If any of this is incorrect, let me know, happy to correct it.
Tuesday, January 12, 2016
Holding the Fossil Fuel Industry Accountable: What We’ve Done and Must Do in the Wake of Paris - The Equation
Holding the Fossil Fuel Industry Accountable: What We’ve Done and Must Do in the Wake of Paris - The Equation
Among other points, the Phillipines alleging 50 largest fossil fuels corporations are human rights violators, pointing out, correctly, their willful contribution to global warming and destructive weather.--BG
Among other points, the Phillipines alleging 50 largest fossil fuels corporations are human rights violators, pointing out, correctly, their willful contribution to global warming and destructive weather.--BG
American Petroleum Institute Regresses with All Fossils, All the Time Plan
American Petroleum Institute Regresses with All Fossils, All the Time Plan
From the Union of Concerned Scientists:
"The American Petroleum Institute’s latest annual report on energy in the U.S. is out, and it’s a step backwards on climate change. While API’s 2015 State of American Energy report for the first time touted a host of clean energy options, the 2016 one is back to all fossils, all the time. It’s time for API to come clean on clean energy and climate change."
From the Union of Concerned Scientists:
"The American Petroleum Institute’s latest annual report on energy in the U.S. is out, and it’s a step backwards on climate change. While API’s 2015 State of American Energy report for the first time touted a host of clean energy options, the 2016 one is back to all fossils, all the time. It’s time for API to come clean on clean energy and climate change."
Monday, January 11, 2016
As predicted/expected: Arch Coal files for bankruptcy, execs flush with money, workers will be sidelined, company will keep emitting as long as possible
ARCH BANKRUPTCY PETITION
Arch Coal's bankruptcy and Peabody Energy’s looming bankruptcy expected later this year means that the tides are not turning. They already have turned. Mayor Slay, will you continue to lend your office to this sinking industry? Commitment to a Just Transition strategy for St. Louis is necessary and long overdue.
Because none of Arch’s mine workers are unionized, sadly, Arch will most like shirk all their obligations to miners’ healthcare and pensions without much organized resistance. This will leave miners in the hospital wondering how they will pay, while the CEOs and hedge funds cash their checks.
The boom and bust cycle of coal is on its last bust, and we need to account for the wreckage that will be left behind -- the mine workers left in the dust without pensions and healthcare, the extraction zones in need of true reclamation, and the local economies, including St. Louis's. We need a Just Transition that accounts for the responsibilities that corporations like Arch Coal and Peabody Energy run away from during bankruptcies.
"St. Louis coal corporations regularly disregard the health, homes and livelihoods of average people and continue to build their empires by profiting from this oppression. The violent apathy of Mayor Slay and other elected officials to the very real struggles for survival in the face of coal is embarrassing and shameful. St. Louis has the opportunity to be a leader in Just Transition strategies; it is deeply troubling that they do not see this as imperative," said St. Louis resident Basmin Nadra.
This unfettered corporate capitalism is not the Just Transition away from coal that we are calling for!
A solidarity economy with green job training, financial responsibility from extraction companies for site reclamation, investment in North St. Louis, utilities that do not prey on low-income residents... this is our Just Transition towards a solidarity economy that works for St. Louis.
Sign below to tell Mayor Slay that St. Louis needs a Just Transition!
Friday, January 8, 2016
Climate Activists Can Learn a Lot From Black Lives Matter | Earth First! Newswire
Climate Activists Can Learn a Lot From Black Lives Matter | Earth First! Newswire
What does the killing of Tamir Rice – and the lack of an indictment for the killer – have to do with the struggle over the climate?
"As the movement for black lives already understands, dismantling racism is not about proving racists wrong. Climate change will not be solved by convincing climate deniers of their own idiocy. Each are about power and affecting near-tectonic shifts in national values and priorities: Whose lives matter? Who controls our future? What does security mean amidst rising tides, and who deserves it?
What does the killing of Tamir Rice – and the lack of an indictment for the killer – have to do with the struggle over the climate?
"As the movement for black lives already understands, dismantling racism is not about proving racists wrong. Climate change will not be solved by convincing climate deniers of their own idiocy. Each are about power and affecting near-tectonic shifts in national values and priorities: Whose lives matter? Who controls our future? What does security mean amidst rising tides, and who deserves it?
The point here is not to draw a hokey analytic comparison between the movement for black lives and the one against climate change. For one, the links between climate and racial justice aren’t abstract. Reducing that relationship to “links” at all belies how deeply interwoven the two really are. It was Cleveland’s polluted Cuyahoga River, after all, which sparked national outrage when it caught fire one June morning in 1969 — a scandal that led to both the Clean Water Act and the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency. Additionally, some of this country’s longest-running fights against pollution and extractive industry have taken root in the communities of color that are first to feel their worst impacts. It’s no secret, either, that the nations currently feeling the blunt force of climate change tend to be poorer and browner than the ones that contributed most to it.
These connections aren’t just facts. They’re lived reality. Necessarily, the movement for black lives has always been a struggle for life and death. The climate fight — for many — is no different. As protesters respond to yesterday’s grand jury decision, environmentalists should be taking notes and joining in."
Read the entire article here
Thursday, January 7, 2016
Wednesday, January 6, 2016
Peabody Energy will forgo $70 million payment to health fund
Peabody Energy will forgo $70 million payment to health fund
"Updated 11:30 a.m., Jan. 5 with details of new agreement - A health fund for retired miners will stay solvent for at least 10 more months.
"Updated 11:30 a.m., Jan. 5 with details of new agreement - A health fund for retired miners will stay solvent for at least 10 more months.
Peabody Energy and the United Mine Workers of America have reached an agreement. The company will pay $75 million into the health fund this year, but will not have to pay $70 million next year.
The fund covers about 12,000 retired Patriot Coal miners, many of whom worked for Peabody Energy. Peabody spun off Patriot in 2007.
The company agreed to pay about $310 million into the health fund in 2013, as part of Patriot Coal’s first bankruptcy. This year Patriot filed for bankruptcy a second time, and Peabody sought to be released from its remaining $145 million obligation.
In a statement, UMWA President Cecil Roberts said the agreement will provide some security for retirees, their dependents and widows.
"These retirees did everything asked of them, and now through no fault of their own find their health care benefits in jeopardy," Roberts said. "This agreement will help, but is by no means a permanent fix to this problem."
Tuesday, January 5, 2016
Thursday, December 31, 2015
Wednesday, December 30, 2015
Happy New Year, miners, Instead of 145 million, this: "Peabody to pay $7.5 million into retiree health fund"
Peabody to pay $7.5 million into retiree health fund
"In its lawsuit Peabody said it was scheduled to pay $75 million into the health fund in January 2016 and $70 million in January 2017. It agreed to make those payments back in 2013, after Patriot’s first bankruptcy."
"In its lawsuit Peabody said it was scheduled to pay $75 million into the health fund in January 2016 and $70 million in January 2017. It agreed to make those payments back in 2013, after Patriot’s first bankruptcy."
Tuesday, December 22, 2015
Monday, December 14, 2015
Monday, December 7, 2015
Friday, December 4, 2015
Go tell that long-tongue liar, you can run on for a long time, but sooner or later.... Reading up for next semester: Peabody, Exxon, Volkswagen, I know Ameren is in here somewhere too, they are all crooked.
Reading up on the #ExxonKnew case, and took me back to our old friends Peabody Coal, also under the lens; and reminded me of Volkswagen, and then I started thinking about all the shenanigans that Ameren is up to trying to dump more coal ash and dirty coal air on the St. Louis region -- are they are all crooked? They are all definitely fighting against science. And, they are all working to make sure your future is a hot one.
And, while I'm not a religious person, this preacher-man has the right message, which then took me to old Johnny Cash, below... for inspiration.
Story and picture from Desmog Blog: http://www.desmogblog.com/2015/11/05/ny-attorney-general-investigation-subpoena-exxonmobil-peabody-coal-climate-denial
You can run on for a long time, sooner or later God'll cut you down...
Go tell that long-tongue liar
Tell 'em that God's gonna cut 'em down
...
Well you may throw your rock and hide your hand,
Workin' in the dark against your fellow man,
But as sure as God made black and white,
What's done in the dark will be brought to the light
Thursday, December 3, 2015
Monday, November 9, 2015
Wednesday, November 4, 2015
Must See Movie: "This Changes Everything" Fri Nov 13 at 6:30 U CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY
sls project: Must See Movie: "This Changes Everything" Fri No...: Directed by Avi Lewis, and inspired by Naomi Klein’s international non-fiction bestseller This Changes Everything, the film presents seven p...
Tuesday, October 27, 2015
Monday, October 26, 2015
Wednesday, October 7, 2015
Thursday, September 24, 2015
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
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