Today's lecture (1.30.17): Related to the question of Trump's tactics and fossil fuel 'democracy'

Attack on public and democratic control of industry:  On my observation that while chaos and attention surround the immigration question, there will be moves to unravel other institutional checks that are relevant to the question of fossil fuels, energy, and the environment.  As we spoke this morning, Trump signed an executive order that said that for every new regulatory rule, two had to be repealed.

The order stipulates that
"Unless prohibited by law, whenever an executive department or agency (agency) publicly proposes for notice and comment or otherwise promulgates a new regulation, it shall identify at least two existing regulations to be repealed." 

Trump said earlier today he wants to eliminate "a little more than 75%" of the regulations now on the books. "We don't need 97 different rules to take care of one element," he said. (Source: NPR)

Beyond the seeming absence of logic or rationale for that order, lies its autocratic capriciousness, which undermines processes and institutions.

On the 'Stream Protection Rule' that Peabody coal hopes to repeal.  

The Stream Protection Rule was in the works for nearly a decade. It's 1,200 pages long, and even still, it barely made it in under the wire. The rule went into effect on the very last day of Obama's presidency. (Source: NPR).

Background on the Stream Protection Rule: https://www.osmre.gov/programs/rcm/streamprotectionrule.shtm.

The rule defines “material damage to the hydrologic balance outside the permit area” for the first time and clarifying that the statutory prohibition on the approval of proposed operations that would result in material damage to the hydrologic balance outside the permit area applies to both surface and underground mining operations. Under SMCRA, the regulatory authority may not approve a permit application unless the application demonstrates, and the regulatory authority finds, that the proposed operation would not result in material damage to the hydrologic balance outside the permit area. The rule requires that the regulatory authority specify the point at which adverse mining-related impacts on groundwater and surface water would constitute material damage to the hydrologic balance outside the permit area reach that level of damage. It further provides that the regulatory authority must specify threshold values for surface water and groundwater parameters that will trigger an evaluation of whether the permit must be revised to prevent the occurrence of material damage to the hydrologic balance outside the permit area.

Link to the rule (as of 1.30.17): https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=OSM-2010-0018-10631

The automobility system and the question of credit and debt
From a student, as per my comments on the connection between the credit and finance industry, auto loans, and the discourse of automobility:  John Oliver rocks it!

Trial Balloon for a Coup?
From a student, as per my comments on Trump's orders being a kind of test-case or 'trial balloon' to see how far institutionality might be pushed (I do not vouch for or endorse the entirety of the article, lesson, triple-check your facts): https://medium.com/@yonatanzunger/trial-balloon-for-a-coup-e024990891d5#.bx9dv87q1

On the Quebec shootings (CORRECTION):
It was reported that two white supremacists were the authors of the attack. That information is yet to be verified, I should have waited to post that. As of today, there is one alleged shooter under arrest.  It is not clear what his link to organized racism is.

Rhodium Group » The Hidden Cause of America’s Coal Collapse

Rhodium Group » The Hidden Cause of America’s Coal Collapse  (Houser and Marsters)

Remember back in 2011 and 2012, when Washington University and Peabody Coal were telling us how the world, especially China, is going to keep consuming more and more coal?  Didn't happen.

"It’s not just the direct impact of the current Chinese coal consumption slowdown on US coal production revenue that has American miners on the ropes. It’s the change in outlook for Chinese coal consumption going forward. Most of the US majors bet big on future Chinese coal demand growth at the top of the cycle in 2011. Arch Coal bought met producerInternational Coal Group for $3.4 billion that year. Alpha Natural Resources bought Massey for $7.1 billion in 2011 citing “a big opportunity to advance Alpha’s position as a premier supplier of metallurgical coal”.  Walter Energy, which is an almost pure-play met company, doubled down on that strategy by purchasing Western Coal in Canada for $3.3 billion in 2010. CEO Joe Leonard described the deal as “a transformative transaction at a time when global demand for metallurgical coal is surging.” He continued, “our combined production capacity and geographic footprint leaves us extremely well positioned to benefit from favorable sector dynamics driven by increased steel production in markets such as China, India and Brazil.” All three companies filed for bankruptcy protection last year."

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.

"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

The Students Were and Are Right: Washington University Needs to Disassociate Itself from Peabody Energy: S.E.C. Is Criticized for Lax Enforcement of Climate Risk Disclosure

Two years ago, when students demanded that Washington University end its relationship with Peabody Energy, many scoffed at them. Others ridiculed them.  Yet, more and more stories emerging show that the students were right.  And board, administration, and acquiescent faculty are mere pawns in a bigger, seemingly crooked game, to deceive the public and continue polluting as long as possible.

S.E.C. Is Criticized for Lax Enforcement of Climate Risk Disclosure: New York Times on the Case of Peabody Energy

"As recently as 2011, shares in Peabody Energy, the world’s biggest private sector coal company, traded at the equivalent of $1,000. Today, they hover around $4 each. Over that time, investors who held the stock lost millions.

Peabody, like other coal companies, has been hammered as cheap natural gas erodes the demand for coal. But concerns about climate change are also an issue for the company as customers and investors turn away from fossil fuels.

Peabody saw this coming. Even as the company privately projected that coal demand would slump and prices would fall, it withheld this information from investors. Instead, Peabody said in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it was not possible to know how changing attitudes toward climate change would affect its business.

Peabody’s double talk was revealed as part of a two-year investigation by the New York attorney general. In a settlement in November, Peabody agreed that it would disclose more about climate change risks in its regular filings with the S.E.C."

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.

Patriot Coal. Peabody's Spawn, and the bankruptcy scheme

What does bankruptcy mean?  Executives walk away wealthy.  Workers and retirees are abandoned to poor health and no benefits.  Land and water left polluted.

These are our partners, Washington University in St Louis.


Updated, via Ken Ward (5/12/15): Patriot Files for Chapter 11, Again 

From Ken Ward:

"Also late last month, the federal Office of Surface Mining had warned the state Department of Environmental Protection about the potential for huge water pollution treatment liabilities given the “precarious financial situation that many of the state’s coal companies find themselves in today.” Patriot is among the companies that have agreed to legal settlements that require expensive treatment to control toxic selenium runoff from its mine sites. Patriot also agreed to phase out the use of mountaintop removal mining in Central Appalachia.
“With the rise of affordable clean energy, stronger clean air and water protections, declining coal reserves, and an increasing realization that coal is the key contributor to climate disruption, companies like Patriot and its parent Peabody are now faced with the reality that coal is no longer king in America,” said Bruce Nilles, senior director of the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign.
“It is critical at this moment for state, regional, and federal leaders to acknowledge the declining role of coal mining in the economic life of the region, and to chart a viable course for the region’s economic future,” Nilles said. “Mine operators like Patriot and Peabody Energy, together with the state of West Virginia and the federal government, must commit to do far more to ensure a just, equitable transition for the region’s workers.”

And:   Patriot Coal files for bankruptcy.

SNL: Patriot in 'advanced stage' of asset sales talks, discloses Illinois Basin deals | SNL

Patriot Coal, a spin-off of Peabody that aimed to shed pension and health obligations for retirees, now completing its mission: to go bankrupt while enriching as many executives as possible.

On Peabody Coal, dispossession, American history and Native American lands

Add to your reading list on #peabody, #coal, and #destruction: Unreal City: Las Vegas, Black Mesa, and the Fate of the West by Judith Nies

— Energy Politics (@energy_politics) January 26, 2015

Lecture 3 - Links and Videos related to lecture "Oil and American Cultural History"

Current Events

1. Oil price drops means bust cycle hitting towns like Midland, TX

 cyclicality of fossil fuel economies

2. State of the Union Address “climate change” (not “global warming”) & Republican response “[white] working people”; the “Keystone Jobs Bill” Obama will “block good American jobs” no climate mention…Republicans censored version; Boehner: "inadvertent"

3. Peabody Energy named Energy Company of the Year by Platts

Greg Boyce, CEO  stock-price way down but “it will come back” & “technology solutions, not regulatory solutions” – Peabody response to#SOTU "pain at the plug"

4. NASCAR, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., ACCCE & ‘clean coal’ state of the union & Business Owner ad

ACCCE: American Coalition for Clean CoalElectricity (industry front group, includes Ameren, Peabody, & number of other companies, now hidden), ties to ALEC

Recent publication “The Social Benefitsof Carbon”  (see my earlier discussion of the ACCCE's view of science with regard to Peabody, Ameren, and WUSTL connections).

Sourcewatch page on ACCCE; Polluter Watch & Wikipedia ACCCE forgery scandal

ACCCE (aka "America's Power" on Twitter: 
Obama is on a “climate crusade” with “calamitous consequences”