coal
If Obama’s Done Nothing for the Environment Why Do the Coal Barons Hate Him?
I’ve had more than one conversation with Republican friends (yes, I have some) who are Romney supporters but also environmentalists. One of the arguments they trump out about why they support Romney despite their environmental interests is that “Obama’s been weak on the environment anyway.” They make this argument especially about climate change. While I …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Good, the Bad and the Ugly about Coal
Coal is in the news these days. Coal is, of course one of the most abundant fossil fuels in the world. It is also one of the dirtiest, both from a conventional air pollution standpoint and from a climate change perspective. Conventional coal-fired power plants emit, for example, about double the carbon dioxide that combined …
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CONTINUE READINGRed Mitt, Blue Mitt, Old Mitt, New Mitt
Mitt was once the governor of a Blue state. Now he’s appealing to voters in Red states. Perhaps it’s no surprise that New Mitt’s views are the opposite of Old Mitt’s views. A NY Times editorial this morning highlights Romney’s changes of position and just how far right he has moved on environment and energy …
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CONTINUE READINGCoal, China, and Pollution
Air pollution in China is a global problem, because of climate change, and a California problem, because pollutants from China reach the U.S. West Coast. An article in the current issue of Nature has good news and bad news about coal and pollution in China. The good news is increased pollution control. The authors estimate …
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CONTINUE READINGAccounting for The Harm of Coal
Much of the effort to rollback current EPA regulations focuses on coal-fired electrical power plants. An article in the August issues of the American Economic Review sheds light on the issues at stake. “Environmental Accounting for Pollution in the United States Economy” is an effort to assess the damages caused by various polluting activities. The …
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CONTINUE READINGScholastic drops industry-funded pro-coal 4th-grade curriculum, but still maintains other programs that threaten public health
Last week, I posted an item about Scholastic, Inc.’s partnership with the coal industry to produce “The United States of Energy,” an energy curriculum that promoted coal without disclosing its considerable public-health and environmental drawbacks. The controversy over this partnership, publicized widely by the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, went as far as a chiding …
CONTINUE READINGScholastic, Inc. publishes pro-coal curriculum for fourth graders, apparently paid for by coal industry
Yesterday, I wrote about a satirical campaign in which anti-coal activists spoofed a Peabody Energy website in order to publicize the link between burning coal and childhood asthma. The satirical campaign included fake child-oriented games and discounted asthma inhalers. But all satire aside, the coal industry really is marketing its product directly to children. The …
CONTINUE READINGAnti-coal satire (with My First Inhaler) punks Peabody Energy
Peabody Energy — last seen on this blog as the real party in interest whose proposal to mine more coal on Indian land in Arizona had to go back to the drawing board because of this UCLA environmental law clinic case , and immortalized in the John Prine song “Paradise” — has been punked. (I’ve …
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CONTINUE READINGIndia Coal Tax to be Used for Carbon Sinks and Clean Energy Technology
This is how you are supposed to do it. Via the Hindu, Indian Finance Minister Mukherjee’s Budget uses carbon charges to combat climate change: The [tax] slapped on coal in last year’s budget will help pay for schemes to protect and regenerate forests and clean up polluted sites announced in this year’s Budget. Finance Minister Pranab …
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CONTINUE READINGObama’s 80% “Clean” Energy Goal: Ambitious or Inevitable?
In a recent post on Grist, Keith Schneider found President Obama’s 80% “clean” energy goal rather incredible: Arguably the central provision of President Obama’s State of the Union address last night was the proposal to generate 80 percent of the nation’s electricity from clean energy sources by 2035 — including nuclear energy and “carbon capture and …
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