Subsidized Past, Bleak Future: Time for Big Coal to Stop Blaming Treehuggers & Face Reality

Over at Coal Tattoo, Ken Ward Jr. flags some real talk from a coal industry analyst:

Calling the uncertain future of Central Appalachian coal mining the “elephant in the room,” industry consultant Alan Stagg said he expects mining in the high-cost region to cease in the next 10 to 20 years. Speaking at Platts Coal Marketing Days on Sept. 21, Stagg said producers in Central Appalachia need to accept that difficult physical mining conditions, combined with inescapable regulatory restrictions, will soon erase profitability.

“This is the elephant in the room. No one wants to acknowledge that reserve depletion is profound,” said Stagg, president and CEO of Stagg Resource Consultants Inc. “Mining conditions are difficult, and the cost to produce is high. That is a physical fact. It’s not pleasant. Nobody wants to acknowledge it. That is a fact, and companies that ignore that fact will not do so well.” [...]

“Are recent regulatory pressures a straw man in addressing problems facing the coal industry?” he asked. “Even if U.S. coal companies got all of their permits, what would they do with them? You cannot sell that coal at $40, $45 or even $50 per ton.”

Blaming treehuggers is way easier than admitting to your investors, consumers & policy-makers that you picked all the low-hanging fruit decades ago & every remaining ton of coal (or barrel of oil) will be increasingly expensive to extract.

Meanwhile Reuters reports, "Asian economies, hungry for coal, stand to gain from a U.S. program meant to keep domestic power cheap and abundant." How much is at stake? "One analyst concludes that the federal government missed out on nearly $30 billion in revenue over the last three decades through poor management of the coal lease program."

Talk about picking winners & losers! How much better off would we be right now if the government had let the free market decide our power sources & just cut $30 billion in checks directly to help Americans pay their power bills?

Eliminating coal subsidies now would be a small step towards making things right - but right now, it sounds like coal companies need all the government welfare they can get.

What Does Peak Coal in America Mean for Appalachia?

America is forecast to get less than 40% of its electricity from coal this year, mostly replaced by cheaper, less polluting natural gas and to a lesser extent by emerging renewables like solar & wind. That would be coal's lowest level in more than 60 years:

Just five years ago, coal was flourishing in the U.S. With electricity demand and the price of natural gas both rising, coal was viewed as essential to keeping power costs under control. Utilities drew up plans to build dozens of coal-fired plants.

But around the same time, a revolution was under way in the natural gas industry. Drillers figured how to tap enormous deposits of previously inaccessible reserves. As supplies grew and the price of natural gas plummeted, the ground shifted under the electric-power industry. [...]

Power plants that burn coal produce more than 90 times as much sulfur dioxide, five times as much nitrogen oxide and twice as much carbon dioxide as those that run on natural gas, according to the Government Accountability Office, the regulatory arm of Congress. Sulfur dioxide causes acid rain; nitrogen oxides cause smog; and carbon dioxide is a so-called greenhouse gas that traps heat in the atmosphere.

For coal apologists, here's the real kick in the pants: "Even without the EPA rules, coal is not really competitive," says Jone-Lin Wang, head of Global Power for the energy research firm IHS CERA. So much for coal executives' fever dreams of a "war on coal."

So if America really has put coal in its rear view mirror, what does it mean for Appalachia? Countries like Saudi Arabia are taking their oil profits and pouring them into renewable energy to prepare for the inevitable decline of their oil reserves. Is there a similar plan to prepare Appalachia for a world where its coal is too expensive and too dirty? Or any plan at all?

TVA Moves Away From Dirty Power As Coal's Long Sunset Continues

I wrote last year about how, by helping kill clean energy & climate legislation, politicians claiming to be on coal's side were actually helping accelerate coal's inevitable decline. Without a Congressional mandate to pretend "clean" coal is real and massive subsidies for technology research, coal wouldn't be able to compete against natural gas, solar and wind power.

States like Colorado have already begun shuttering coal plants and moving to cleaner energy sources. Dominion Virginia Power is switching coal plants to natural gas & biomass. And now the Tennessee Valley Authority is announcing plans to phase out 18 units at three dirty, coal-fired power plants and install modern pollution controls on three dozen additional units:

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced a settlement with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to resolve alleged Clean Air Act violations at 11 of its coal-fired plants in Alabama, Kentucky, and Tennessee. The settlement will require TVA to invest a TVA estimated $3 to $5 billion on new and upgraded state-of-the-art pollution controls that will prevent approximately 1,200 to 3,000 premature deaths, 2,000 heart attacks and 21,000 cases of asthma attacks each year, resulting in up to $27 billion in annual health benefits. TVA will also invest $350 million on clean energy projects that will reduce pollution, save energy and protect public health and the environment.

"This agreement will save lives and prevent billions of dollars in health costs. Modernizing these plants and encouraging clean energy innovation means better health protections and greater economic opportunities for the people living near TVA facilities,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “Investments in pollution control equipment will keep hundreds of thousands of tons of harmful pollutants out of the air we breathe, and help create green job opportunities that will reduce pollution and improve energy efficiency."

But coal state politicians continue to insist all is well. Ken Ward Jr. of the Charleston (WV) Gazette's Coal Tattoo blog has a must-read post on West Virginia politicians denying the reality of coal's decline:

Never mind that a handful of West Virginia counties account for the vast majority of the state’s coal production, while at the same time being home to a very small share of our population. Or that many of those same counties areamong the poorest in West Virginia. Or that coal is a very small share of West Virginia’s gross state product. [...]

As so often seems to happen with coal, though, the answer to that is not to follow the law, but to try to change it. And that’s what Sen. Rockefeller is trying to do with his legislation to block EPA action. [...]

[Rockefeller] oddly refers to EPA’s “rush to regulate” greenhouse gases. Rush to regulate? Seriously?

Come June, it will have been 23 years since Dr. James Hansen warned Congress that global warming was already underway … and with a GOP-controlled House, does Sen. Rockefeller really believe there’s much chance of a comprehensive climate change bill becoming law — or would the success of his EPA-blocking legislation just be a way to again protect coal from having to "embrace the future"?

My only question is, why won't politicians like Barack Obama, Tim Kaine & Mark Warner level with voters that the age of coal is ending? Instead, we get lots of empty rhetoric about how "clean" coal will someday appear out of thin air. Do they really think voters can't handle the truth?

"God Seems To Will That The Creeks Rise A Bit More Often"

Via Andrew Sullivan, a great post on the impact of mountaintop removal on Appalachian communities.

A "Dear Joe" Letter to Sen. Manchin on Coal

JW Randolph of Appalachian Voices has a message for Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) - "Arch Coal has a plan, and it is not you":

Well, I’m not sure how it happened. But it seems like southern West Virginia has survived its first post-apocalyptic, economy-annihilating, way-of-life-ending weekend after EPA heroically vetoed Arch Coal’s Spruce Mine permit last Thursday. As bad as Joe Manchin and Nick Rahall said life was going to be after the veto, myself and most folks in West Virginia ended up having a pretty decent weekend, all things considered. Heck, we even learned that despite the snow many if not most nearby residents are celebrating EPA’s veto of Spruce #1 mine.

Which leads me to wonder…has anyone ever been so loud and proud about shoving their head in the sand and ignoring the cries of their constituents and colleagues, the consensus of scientists, and the pleading of health professionals as loudly as Joe Manchin and Nick Rahall? Senator Manchin certainly hasn’t had a very positive first few weeks in the United States Senate. In fact, despite not taking too many big votes, he has found that his actions have already left him with a lot to apologize for. He set another high bar last week when EPA announced its decision on Spruce. Not only was his rhetoric irresponsible, but his information is just plain incorrect – particularly in asserting that EPA was “retroactively” vetoing this permit.

The whole post is long but definitely worth reading.

So Much for Byrd's Legacy

In the twilight years of his long Senate career, the late Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV) became a strong supporter of climate science & the need to move to a new energy economy. Meanwhile, Gov. Joe Manchin is Big Coal's best friend, staunchly opposing clean energy & climate action. So which position do you think Manchin's appointee to Byrd's Senate seat, Carte Goodwin, will take?

"I'm a little reluctant to get into extensive policy discussion on any particular piece of legislation," Goodwin, 36, said at a press conference in Charleston, W.Va. "That being said, with regard to cap and trade, I will say this: From what I've seen of the Waxman-Markey bill that passed the House of Representatives and other proposals pending in the Senate, they simply are not right for West Virginia."

Wouldn't want to start moving away from coal, even though coal employment is plummeting, now providing fewer than 30,000 jobs total in West Virginia, Virginia & Kentucky combined. But go ahead, make it seem like pledging allegiance to coal is somehow patriotic:

Goodwin's position appears to closely mirror Manchin, who has also been a vocal critic of cap and trade, and the governor said that while there was discussion of the policy, there was no "litmus test" to earn the Senate appointment.

"I know he's fiercely independent, but I also know the love of West Virginia," Machin said of the new senator. "So it wasn't like a litmus test had to be given."

Who needs some silly litmus test when you already know he'll serve as Big Coal's #1 man in the Senate?

So what will Goodwin support? Giving away more tax dollars to Big Coal to fund the search for imaginary technology!

Goodwin did say he was interested in backing a bill from Sens. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) and George Voinovich (R-Ohio) to develop carbon sequestration technology.

Pro-coal West Virginia politicians like to paint themselves as looking out for the little guy. I know who they're looking out for, and there's nothing little about him.

"Coal Has Not Been Good for West Virginia."

West Virginia blogger Debra Dean Murphy has an op-ed in today's Charleston Gazette taking on the myth that her state owes whatever prosperity it has to coal:

Lest I be misunderstood, let me say, as clearly as I can, that I don't in any way denigrate the risky work that coal miners do, nor the sense of accomplishment they rightly feel in their vocation.

But here's the thing: I worry, at least a little, when generations of West Virginians - whether they're connected to coal mining or not - absorb this notion that they are beleaguered and put-upon, the most-derided in our culture, and then turn that woundedness into a kind of guarded bravado that refuses to reckon with some hard, uncomfortable truths.

To say we're proud of coal miners without acknowledging that for decades miners have been given the shaft - literally - by greedy coal companies does not serve the long-term well-being of those who do this dirty, dangerous work. And, sure, we should pray for the victims of this most recent tragedy, but we should also do the holy, pressing work of challenging an industry that enriches absentee corporate shareholders while sucking the life out of the people and places it needs for its pursuit of profit at any cost.

This latest disaster should not be one more occasion for West Virginians to turn their latent defensiveness into full-blown denial of what's really going on. Here's the truth: Coal has not been good for West Virginia. Coal has been good for corporations. After more than a century of extracting this valuable resource from the earth, the considerable profits it has generated have gone elsewhere.

Takes a lot of guts for someone to stand up to their state's status quo and call it like it is. Read more from Debra at her blog.

Cross-posted from BlueVirginia.us

Verizon to Conservationists: Drop Dead

Via West Virginia Blue, CREDO Action has gotten a response from Verizon on its sponsorship of a pro-polluter rally:

Before we launched our campaign, CREDO Action reached out to Verizon Wireless to confirm its sponsorship of the pro-coal "Friends of America" rally. Becky Bond, our Political Director, then sent a cordial follow-up to give Verizon Wireless a heads-up that our campaign had launched. Verizon replied as follows:

"This is how our response is going over with the activists. Becky once lived in a tree for a while. At least now I know where the emails are coming from."
- James Gerace, VP of Corporate Communications at Verizon Wireless

You got that?

If you don't think that Verizon Wireless should support global warming deniers and practitioners of mountaintop removal mining, then Verizon Wireless thinks it's okay to dismiss your concerns because you must have "lived in a tree for a while."

Really stunning that Verizon has taken such a brazen stance against its conservationist customers. Until now, I hadn't given much thought to CREDO Mobile, a cell phone provider that gives a portion of its proceeds to progressive causes (CREDO was formerly known as Working Assets). But Verizon is making an awfully good case to get me to switch. And I've heard from plenty of friends in the last couple of days who are thinking the same thing.

Why is Verizon Sponsoring a Pro-Polluter Rally?

A group of businesses in West Virginia is sponsoring an event on Monday called the Friends of America Rally. It's not exactly clear why this group of mostly West Virginia-based businesses is sponsoring the rally, but with a little detective work, we can quickly figure out what it's all about.

With Sean Hannity and Ted Nugent headlining the event, you can tell who'll be blamed for any and all of America's problems: Them. Immigrants. Liberals. Gays. Really, anyone who might deflect the role polluters have played in our interconnected economic, energy and climate crises. I can practically hear the screams of dey took er jobs!

Right now, there's only one clear policy ask on the event's website: "If you would like to sign a petition against the Waxman-Markey Climate Bill, click here." The event's location reinforces the message. "The Rally is going to be held on a previous surface mine, just south of Logan, West Virginia."

"Surface mine" of course being coal industry jargon for "mountaintop removal." Thanks to Google Maps, you can see how badly the landscape has been scarred in that area:


View Larger Map

I'm not surprised West Virginia businesses would be trying to buy their way into the hearts of the local citizens. After all, these are tough times for polluters. People in places like West Virginia are starting to wake up to the reality that polluters have been stealing their natural resources, destroying their communities, and hurting their health for generations. And for what? A map of poverty in Appalachia matches almost exactly with mountaintop removal sites.

But there's one major outlier on the current list of sponsors: Verizon Wireless. I don't see any other national companies on sponsor list. Why is Verizon, with over 13,000 employees here in Virginia, sponsoring a pro-polluter, global warming denial rally? I'm currently a Verizon Wireless subscriber, but Verizon's sponsorship of this event makes me question whether I want to give another penny to them.

Please take a moment right now to ask Verizon to pull its sponsorship. There's still time for Verizon to do the right thing.

CNN: The Battle Over Coal River Mountain