Monday, March 21, 2016
Sunday, March 20, 2016
Dirty Coal: We'll be talking about the coal industry for next few lectures. Here are some Mountaintop Removal Videos to get you started.
I Love Mountains (2006)
Smithsonian
Smithsonian
Friday, March 18, 2016
Dirty Coal: Or, spending last day of Spring Break reading Peabody's 10-K prepping for next week's classes. And here are some notes.
Peabody's 10-K: (1) long term contracts lock us in to coal dependence (2) Management will get rich while workers and nature bear the costs.— SLSProject (@slsproject) March 18, 2016
Peabody's 10-K: 352 pages of how it works… https://t.co/KKqdLqS0jA
— SLSProject (@slsproject) March 18, 2016
Peabody's 10-K: Problem is, their cronies, like @AmerenMissouri, have fought against solar, renewables, while signing long-term contracts— SLSProject (@slsproject) March 18, 2016
We should have been working to transition grid toward solar, wind many years ago but @AmerenMissouri was contracting coal far into future.— SLSProject (@slsproject) March 18, 2016
And, since they must do country club together @peabodyenergy & @AmerenMissouri CEOs were doing coal deals while earth on fire. They knew.— SLSProject (@slsproject) March 18, 2016
And @AmerenMissouri, fought to end solar rebates while fighting local MO communities to build a new coal ash dump in MO River flood plain.— SLSProject (@slsproject) March 18, 2016
New coal ash dump means their only plan is to burn more coal, which their cronies over at @peabodyenergy will supply. @AmerenMissouri— SLSProject (@slsproject) March 18, 2016
This is what you call carbon lock-in. They use political and economic power to block change. They knew. @peabodyenergy @AmerenMissouri— SLSProject (@slsproject) March 18, 2016
Not only did they know they were willfully warming the planet, they fought against climate science. #criminal @peabodyenergy @AmerenMissouri— SLSProject (@slsproject) March 18, 2016
And they've got willing cronies over on my own campus @wustl who were green-washing for them. #cleancoal @peabodyenergy @AmerenMissouri— SLSProject (@slsproject) March 18, 2016
Now who's laughing? Well nobody, we should not be happy at state of the earth or our dirty air. Thanks @wustl @peabodyenergy @AmerenMissouri— SLSProject (@slsproject) March 18, 2016
Problem is, we still have long fight to seize and change the grid. Communities, movements, universities, get off of dirty energy.— SLSProject (@slsproject) March 18, 2016
To the end of dirty energy: pic.twitter.com/08ZBV3n7l1— SLSProject (@slsproject) March 18, 2016
Thursday, March 17, 2016
Dirty Coal: Peabody is going bankrupt, slowly. This does not mean they will go away. They are down but not out. The struggle goes on to defend earth and labor from the destructive power of coal
Peabody's 10-K filed 3/16/16
(good old Washington University is in there!)
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1064728/000106472816000157/btu-20151231x10k.htm
On Peabody bankruptcy:— SLSProject (@slsproject) March 17, 2016
1) @stlpublicradio is doing a story on laid off miners. That's good. But workers need #JustTransition, not more mines
On Peabody:— SLSProject (@slsproject) March 17, 2016
2) After you finish that story @stlpublicradio, please do one on the toxic pock-marked wasteland that coal left in S. Illinois.On Peabody:— SLSProject (@slsproject) March 17, 2016
3) This will get you started @slsproject @stlpublicradio @radioaltman- look on google maps: 'Rocky Branch School Harrisburg IL'
On Peabody:— SLSProject (@slsproject) March 17, 2016
3) Guess what no school, road's gone. All you have is scarred earth -- here's pic @stlpublicradio pic.twitter.com/lPH4KXqlST
On Peabody:— SLSProject (@slsproject) March 17, 2016
4) Don't just tell story of laid off workers. They need state help yes. Tell long history of #coal destruction. @stlpublicradio
On Peabody— SLSProject (@slsproject) March 17, 2016
6) Bankruptcy means they're down, but not out. Protect workers and the earth. pic.twitter.com/LJgKlf2jGK
Peabody admits bankruptcy may be in its future
Peabody Energy’s ability to pay mine clean-up costs questioned
http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/peabody-energy-s-ability-pay-mine-clean-costs-questioned
Monday, March 14, 2016
Saudi Arabia, Oil, and Militarism: Two articles about our collective quagmire linking death, weapons, and oil in the Middle East
More on our arming of Saudi Arabia and its relationship to the campaign against the Houthi insurgency in Yemen (Most of the victims so far are civilians). Now, the US is not only complicit, but directly involved.
And, students could have written this essay, a nice summary of oil dependence, political and economic disintegration in oil dependent states, and the place of Saudi Arabia therein:
More here: How Saudi Arabia Turned its Greatest Weapon [Oil] Upon Itself (by Andrew Cooper)
"Two days of discussions in the West Wing followed, but there was little real debate. Among other reasons, the White House needed to placate the Saudis as the administration completed a nuclear deal with Iran, Saudi Arabia’s archenemy. That fact alone eclipsed concerns among many of the president’s advisers that the Saudi-led offensive would be long, bloody and indecisive.
Mr. Obama soon gave his approval for the Pentagon to support the impending military campaign.
A year later, the war has been a humanitarian disaster for Yemen and a study in the perils of the Obama administration’s push to get Middle Eastern countries to take on bigger military roles in their neighborhood. Thousands of Yemeni civilians have been killed, many by [American made] Saudi jets flying too high to accurately deliver the bombs to their targets. Peace talks have been stalled for months. American spy agencies have concluded that Yemen’s branch of Al Qaeda has only grown more powerful in the chaos."
More here: Quiet Support for Saudis Entangles U.S. in YemenAnd, students could have written this essay, a nice summary of oil dependence, political and economic disintegration in oil dependent states, and the place of Saudi Arabia therein:
More here: How Saudi Arabia Turned its Greatest Weapon [Oil] Upon Itself (by Andrew Cooper)
 |
| Outside an Aramco oil field complex in Saudi Arabia in 2003. Reza/Getty Images |
Thursday, March 10, 2016
Here's Why Even The World's Largest Coal Company Is Teetering On Bankruptcy
Here's Why Even The World's Largest Coal Company Is Teetering On Bankruptcy
Or, if you live in St. Louis, how we've come to depend on – even shelter, subsidize, and subordinate ourselves to – the worst kinds of businesses, and why we need a different kind of capitalist class in this city.
Or, if you live in St. Louis, how we've come to depend on – even shelter, subsidize, and subordinate ourselves to – the worst kinds of businesses, and why we need a different kind of capitalist class in this city.
Friday, March 4, 2016
File under coal and the undermining of science and democracy: Arch Coal funded US ‘libertarian’ think tank and ALEC
More evidence that coal companies are fighting tooth and nail against science and democracy. Arch Coal bankruptcy documents reveal their support for anti-science think tanks.
This would not be so out of the ordinary, except that here at Washington University in St. Louis, money also comes in (or was coming in?) from Arch Coal to fund so-called "clean coal" research. We know that there is not, and will never be anything such as "clean coal." But Arch and Peabody, who also have representatives sitting on the university's board of trustees have little interest in truth or science. Does it not seem troubling to the scientists at Washington University that corporations that are spending a lot of money to discredit science are associated with you and your colleagues?
I guess some people's ethics have a price.
Peabody is also going into bankruptcy soon. In those documents we might get some revealing information about the climate science denialists they owe money to as well.
Read the whole story here: Arch Coal funded US ‘libertarian’ think tank and ALEC
"Arch Coal, the second largest coal company in the US, has revealed that it has been a secret funder of the Ludwig von Mises Institute, a self-proclaimed “libertarian” think tank which has been a part of the global echo chamber of groups opposing action on climate change.
The filing also reveals the coal company was a behind-the-scenes funder of the American Legislative Exchange Commission (ALEC), a US-based group which drafts corporate-sponsored legislation and brokers its introduction via a network of conservative legislators.
Arch Coal’s recent 579-page filing (large pdf) with the US Bankruptcy Court listed the Ludwig von Mises Institute as one of the company’s creditors which are owed money. However, no details are provided on how much Arch Coal has paid the libertarian think tank or when any payments were made." (Bob Burton, at End Coal)
This would not be so out of the ordinary, except that here at Washington University in St. Louis, money also comes in (or was coming in?) from Arch Coal to fund so-called "clean coal" research. We know that there is not, and will never be anything such as "clean coal." But Arch and Peabody, who also have representatives sitting on the university's board of trustees have little interest in truth or science. Does it not seem troubling to the scientists at Washington University that corporations that are spending a lot of money to discredit science are associated with you and your colleagues?
I guess some people's ethics have a price.
Peabody is also going into bankruptcy soon. In those documents we might get some revealing information about the climate science denialists they owe money to as well.
Read the whole story here: Arch Coal funded US ‘libertarian’ think tank and ALEC
Tuesday, March 1, 2016
Sunday, February 28, 2016
Thursday, February 25, 2016
Re: What can be done? Tip #373, don't listen to Bill Gates: "No Bill Gates, We Don’t Need ‘Energy Miracles’ To Solve Climate Change"
No Bill Gates, We Don’t Need ‘Energy Miracles’ To Solve Climate Change (Joe Romm)
I endorse this link.
I've always thought Bill Gates was full of hubris, arrogance, and bad ideas masked by tons of money and supported only by groveling non-profits who wanted a piece of it. Here's more proof of that.
Summary: on climate crisis, don't listen to Bill Gates. (In fact, he's apparently taken to plagiarizing others' ideas on top of everything else). Instead, take action to push for radical political and policy change. It's the only thing that works. ––BG
I endorse this link.
I've always thought Bill Gates was full of hubris, arrogance, and bad ideas masked by tons of money and supported only by groveling non-profits who wanted a piece of it. Here's more proof of that.
Summary: on climate crisis, don't listen to Bill Gates. (In fact, he's apparently taken to plagiarizing others' ideas on top of everything else). Instead, take action to push for radical political and policy change. It's the only thing that works. ––BG
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
Oil, volatility, and keepitintheground: St. Louis Fed: Financial Markets Are Saying Oil Will Be Worthless by mid-2019
St. Louis Fed: Financial Markets Are Saying Oil Will Be Worthless by mid-2019
This does not mean that oil will be worthless, but that financial markets are acting as if the oil price is going one way, and futures traders (who buy oil based on what they think the price will be in the future) are acting another way. Point being: we don't know what's going to happen and markets sure don't have the last word.
This does not mean that oil will be worthless, but that financial markets are acting as if the oil price is going one way, and futures traders (who buy oil based on what they think the price will be in the future) are acting another way. Point being: we don't know what's going to happen and markets sure don't have the last word.
Re: Saudi Arabia. Don't think movements make a difference? Saudis are up to their teeth in weapons but really really scared of the global #keepitintheground movement: Quit Apologizing! World Needs Fossil Fuels, Saudis Tell Oilmen
Quit Apologizing! World Needs Fossil Fuels, Saudis Tell Oilmen
I have faith in technology, says the sheikh. So keep burning oil…
I have faith in technology, says the sheikh. So keep burning oil…
Oiligarchy and the corruption of politics. In this case it's the coal-dependence lobby. We're coming to this, but file under obstacles to change, like backwards thinking legislatures, like Missouri's: RELEASE Budget Leaders Announce Effort to Fight Implementation of the EPA Clean Power Plan
RELEASE Budget Leaders Announce Effort to Fight Implementation of the EPA Clean Power Plan
"Legislators Plan to Put Language in Budget Bills to Prevent Funding of Federal Emissions Rule
"Legislators Plan to Put Language in Budget Bills to Prevent Funding of Federal Emissions Rule
JEFFERSON CITY – Budget leaders from the Missouri Senate and House announced today a plan to prevent any future funding going towards implementation of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Power Plan.
“We made a positive step forward this week thanks to U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling, but we still need to put language in place that will ultimately stop this ill-conceived rule,” said Senate Appropriations Chairman Kurt Schaefer, R-Columbia. “Estimates show this aggressive, job-destroying plan would cost $6 billion just to comply. While the Supreme Court may have slowed the implementation process down, we have an obligation as lawmakers to protect our taxpayers, businesses, and consumers.”
The EPA’s new rule includes guidelines for states to follow including cutting carbon emissions from power plants by 30 percent by 2030. The agency’s strict timelines and milestones in the Clean Power Plan would cost billions to implement. Costs would be passed onto consumers and businesses, take money out of the economy, and stall spending, innovation, investment, and job growth.
“The EPA tried to shift a huge burden of administration and implementation on to the state, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) specifically,” said House Budget Chairman, Tom Flanigan, R-Carthage. “This is our way of taking control of our state’s resources making sure we have Missourians’ best interests in mind.”
Senate Appropriations Vice Chairman, Ryan Silvey, R-Kansas City, said they plan to put language into the appropriations bills specifying no hard-working, taxpayer dollars will fund the implementation of the plan to limit carbon emissions.
“Missouri taxpayers cannot be forced to bear the burden of this economy-killing plan and blatant overreach of the federal government,” said Silvey. “We will get the federal government out of our state’s business using the appropriations process. We know what will work best for Missouri, our businesses, and our consumers.”
“Because the EPA seems to follow no rules or answer to anyone, we need to take the steps to protect our incomes and economy,” said House Budget Vice Chairman Scott Fitzpatrick, R-Shell Knob. “We will take the reins and guide our state in the right direction.”
On the resource curse, volatility, and debt: Oil and gas producers ‘in distress’ as low oil price pain continues
Oil and gas producers ‘in distress’ as low oil price pain continues
"“We effectively had free credit for seven years and an energy transformation, so a lot of capital went into that,” said Leslie Biddle of Serengeti Asset Management, a $1.5bn US hedge fund with significant oil and gas investments. “But now the capital markets to exploration and production have shut.”
"“We effectively had free credit for seven years and an energy transformation, so a lot of capital went into that,” said Leslie Biddle of Serengeti Asset Management, a $1.5bn US hedge fund with significant oil and gas investments. “But now the capital markets to exploration and production have shut.”
Companies on the distressed list are paying interest at 10 percentage points more than Treasury rates. Standard & Poor’s (S&P) says the energy sector accounts for around 31% of the $285bn total distressed debt in the US. Some investors are attracted by the high yields on offer and a belief that the oil price of oil will soon rise. Borrowers, meanwhile, are keen to fund investment by issuing bonds in the hope the price of oil will eventually rise again.
But sentiment in the sector is worsening the longer the oil price stays low. Many traders had expected an upswing this year, but it has failed to materialise.
In the US, 35 exploration and production companies filed for bankruptcy between July 2014 and December 2015, according to a recent Deloitte report."
Tuesday, February 23, 2016
Sunday, February 21, 2016
Militarization and exceptionalism. Former Air Force General and CIA chief seeking to create normative discursive cover for what many jurists see as illegal (the US drone program): "To Keep America Safe, Embrace Drone Warfare"
Don't ever say your professor didn't offer you access to the other side of the argument. On killing civilians and children with drones in the (what I see as spurious) name of 'keeping us safe', here it is:
I don't know if that title was from the author or the NYT, but it is exceptionalist militarism (some might even say fascism, i.e. 'my country right or wrong') at its best. The least one could expect would be a verb besides "embrace"? Are you kidding me?
Click on image or here for article.
Below, two insightful comments on the article:
I don't know if that title was from the author or the NYT, but it is exceptionalist militarism (some might even say fascism, i.e. 'my country right or wrong') at its best. The least one could expect would be a verb besides "embrace"? Are you kidding me?
Click on image or here for article.
Below, two insightful comments on the article:
Coal and criminality. We'll be getting the back story on this case in a few weeks. For the moment, awaiting sentencing: "So, is Don Blankenship ‘hardly a criminal’?" « Coal Tattoo (Ken Ward)
So, is Don Blankenship ‘hardly a criminal’? « Coal Tattoo
February 18, 2016 by Ken Ward Jr.
"As the public tries to understand how six former Freedom Industries officialsreceived a total of 60 days in jail for contaminating the drinking water for 300,000 people (see here and here for some of my efforts at explaining), some folks have naturally turned their attention to the upcoming sentencing in another of former U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin’s major white-collar criminal cases."
Read the whole story here.
February 18, 2016 by Ken Ward Jr.
"As the public tries to understand how six former Freedom Industries officialsreceived a total of 60 days in jail for contaminating the drinking water for 300,000 people (see here and here for some of my efforts at explaining), some folks have naturally turned their attention to the upcoming sentencing in another of former U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin’s major white-collar criminal cases."
Read the whole story here.
Saturday, February 20, 2016
We'll be talking about fracking and shale, lots of money went into it, and doesn't look like it's coming back out, for now: Oil and gas producers ‘in distress’ as low oil price pain continues
Oil and gas producers ‘in distress’ as low oil price pain continues
Low oil and gas prices are close to triggering a wave of bankruptcies and debt defaults among US producers, investors fear. The fall in the oil price to levels that are punishingly low for producers is putting up to $88bn of borrowings potentially at risk.
About 30% of the oil and gas industry’s debt is now said to be at distressed levels – meaning companies are experiencing financial or operational problems severe enough to put them at risk of default or bankruptcy.
Producers, especially those fracking for shale gas, have borrowed heavily in the past few years and are now counting the cost as revenues tumble. From around $115 a barrel in July 2014, oil is now hovering nearer $30 a barrel, with fears of a continuing glut. This comes after a shale gas boom in the US coincided with low interest rates in the wake of the financial crisis.
“We effectively had free credit for seven years and an energy transformation, so a lot of capital went into that,” said Leslie Biddle of Serengeti Asset Management, a $1.5bn US hedge fund with significant oil and gas investments. “But now the capital markets to exploration and production have shut.”
Read the rest here.
Friday, February 19, 2016
Kochs Plotting Multi-Million-Dollar Assault On Electric Vehicles
On the topic of "the only thing we can do to reduce dependence on foreign oil is to consume less oil" - we have these guys and many others to thank for working against us (and our children and their children).
Kochs Plotting Multi-Million-Dollar Assault On Electric Vehicles
Kochs Plotting Multi-Million-Dollar Assault On Electric Vehicles
Coal Miners Movement emerges in southern Illinois
Coal Miners Movement emerges in southern Illinois
After decades of exploitation and abandonment, Southern Illinois needs economic transition, not more coal destruction.
After decades of exploitation and abandonment, Southern Illinois needs economic transition, not more coal destruction.
Thursday, February 18, 2016
Tar Sands – here's an updated story and graphic on the dirtiness of tarsands oil (called here, 'synthetics' or 'dilbit' of various Canadian blends): Fueling a Clean Transportation Future (2016). Union of Concerned Scientists
Climate-related transportation policies have enjoyed relative success in the United States. After years of stagnation, federal fuel economy standards were passed in 2011, increasing the efficiency of new cars and trucks. Advanced new cellulosic ethanol plants are finally ramping up, churning out low-carbon alternatives to gasoline. And more electric vehicles are on the road now than ever before.
Yet despite this progress, oil—the main ingredient in gasoline—has steadily become dirtier. The pollution associated with extracting and refining a barrel of oil has increased by nearly a third over the last decade, and now varies by a factor of more than five: from less than 50 kilograms of carbon emissions per barrel to more than 250 kilograms. These emissions represent a small share of gasoline’s total climate impact, but it’s an important one: given the global scale of oil consumption, even slight increases in oil-related emissions can have dramatic—and disastrous—consequences.
Read the rest of the article here.
Dirty coal, it will never be clean; plus, we've been breathing toxic air for years, thanks to Ameren and Peabody, and collusion in the state regulators office (MODNR): U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Signals Intent to Reject Missouri DNR’s Weak Clean Air Designation at Ameren’s Labadie Coal Plant
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Signals Intent to Reject Missouri DNR’s Weak Clean Air Designation at Ameren’s Labadie Coal Plant
Read more here. If you want to know what S02 is, why it's scary, and how the EPA is calling out the state of Missouri for "nonattainment" of acceptable air quality because of the coal plants, here's the EPA letter: http://www3.epa.gov/airquality/sulfurdioxide/designations/round2/07_MO_resp.pdf
Wednesday, February 17, 2016
Talking about tar sands and pipelines today, the latest spurious corporate move: TransCanada to file 2 legal challenges to Keystone pipeline rejection
TransCanada to file 2 legal challenges to Keystone pipeline rejection
Republicans, Canadian politicians and the energy industry argued the pipeline would create thousands of jobs and inject billions into the economy. But Democrats and environmental groups latched onto Keystone as just the type of project that must be phased out if the world is to seriously combat climate change.
Republicans, Canadian politicians and the energy industry argued the pipeline would create thousands of jobs and inject billions into the economy. But Democrats and environmental groups latched onto Keystone as just the type of project that must be phased out if the world is to seriously combat climate change.
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
More on Saudi Arabia amidst the oil glut: Young Saudis See Cushy Jobs Vanish Along With Nation’s Oil Wealth
Young Saudis See Cushy Jobs Vanish Along With Nation’s Oil Wealth
But the fat years left the economy poorly structured, economists say: 90 percent of government revenues are from oil; 70 percent of working Saudis are employed by the government; and even the private sector remains heavily dependent on government spending. ...Saudi Arabia still has room to maneuver, he said, thanks to large cash reserves, low public debt and lots of new infrastructure that can aid economic growth. But the generational differences are clear…. Economists say that at least 250,000 young Saudis enter the job market every year, and that making them effective members of the work force is a major challenge.
But the fat years left the economy poorly structured, economists say: 90 percent of government revenues are from oil; 70 percent of working Saudis are employed by the government; and even the private sector remains heavily dependent on government spending. ...Saudi Arabia still has room to maneuver, he said, thanks to large cash reserves, low public debt and lots of new infrastructure that can aid economic growth. But the generational differences are clear…. Economists say that at least 250,000 young Saudis enter the job market every year, and that making them effective members of the work force is a major challenge.
Monday, February 15, 2016
Thursday, February 11, 2016
Students: What can be done? Follow the lead of Coal Ash Chronicles, testify, speak out, resist: U.S. Commission on Civil Rights: Rhiannon Fionn’s Testimony + How You Can Comment | Coal Ash Chronicles
U.S. Commission on Civil Rights: Rhiannon Fionn’s Testimony + How You Can Comment | Coal Ash Chronicles
How coal ash pollution is a civil rights violation
How coal ash pollution is a civil rights violation
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