|
| Headline |
Author |
Published |
Section |
Importing coal
|
David Roberts |
10 Jul 2006 |
Gristmill |
| Here's a story you don't hear about much: With nearly a quarter of the world's coal supply -- enough to last centuries -- the United States has been dubbed the "Saudi Arabia of Coal" by US officials and energy experts. But thanks to growing global coal markets and clean air regulations, the US is witnessing a latter-day equivalent of "carrying coals to Newcastle" -- a 230 percent leap in coal imports to the US since 1999. ... ... |
|
| Topics: coal, energy (all these topics) |
|
|
Goodell on coal gasification
|
David Roberts |
23 Jun 2006 |
Gristmill |
| My officemates are furiously packing, washing, dusting, and hauling in preparation for the Big Grist Move (you could help out by sending a few dollars our way!). I fled the scene to come home, using the excuse that somebody has to keep the blog going. So I guess I better blog about something ... On Wednesday, I had a long, fascinating conversation with Jeff Goodell, author of Big Coal. I hope we can get it up in a week or so. In the meantime, check out the great op-e ... |
|
| Topics: coal, energy (all these topics) |
|
|
Interview with Jeff Goodell, author of Big Coal
|
David Roberts |
19 Jun 2006 |
Gristmill |
| I'm not sure what I expected when I picked up Jeff Goodell's Big Coal, but I was pleasantly surprised. It is neither a number-and-graph-filled wonkfest nor a provincial, narrow examination of a particular set of companies. Instead, it's an engagingly written narrative that travels through every stage of coal -- from extraction through travel through burning -- and ends with a broad examination of the consequences for the climate. I really can't recommend it highly enou ... |
|
| Topics: books, coal, energy (all these topics) |
|
|
Warts and Ethanol
A new reliance on coal could sap green cred from the ethanol industry |
Amanda Griscom Little |
26 May 2006 |
Muckraker |
| As ethanol boosterism spreads far and wide -- from Bush's bully pulpit to the New York Times editorial page to green-group press releases -- a quietly emerging trend is threatening to undermine the biofuel's environmental credibility. How green is this ethanol plant? Photo: iStockphoto. More and more ethanol manufacturers are looking to power their plants with cheap coal i ... |
|
| Topics: coal, energy, ethanol, Muckraker (all these topics) |
|
|
Yeah ... coal does that
Greenwashing coal with platitudes |
Corey McKrill |
11 May 2006 |
Gristmill |
| In the same vein as the half-pint shill with a skateboard who's 'stoked' about how clean coal is, this greenwash site for Peabody Coal tries to appeal to the bumpersticker platitude crowd in its latest ad: ENERGY FOR THE 21st CENTURY Flip a switch. Play a tune. Warm your home. Fuel your car. Yeah ... coal can do that.And really, what can't coal do? Insipidity and people's high tolerance for it never cease to amaze. But the technologies and promises for a bright, ... |
|
| Topics: coal, energy (all these topics) |
|
|
Rhymes With Blagojevich
Mercury emissions from power plants on the rise in the U.S. |
|
02 May 2006 |
Daily Grist |
| Rhymes With Blagojevich Mercury emissions from power plants on the rise in the U.S. Mercury emissions in the U.S. fell by nearly 2 percent between 2003 and 2004, according to newly released federal data, but that small bit of good news masks a troubling trend. Mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants were actually up 4 percent over the same period, according to a Chicago Tribune analysis, thanks to i ... |
|
| Topics: coal, energy, news, pollution and waste, toxics (all these topics) |
|
|
Things That Go Lump in the Night
Coal makes a comeback |
|
19 Apr 2006 |
Daily Grist |
| Things That Go Lump in the Night Coal makes a comeback As oil prices rise, coal will emerge as the fuel of the future. This depressing assessment is the collective judgment of international power company executives, expressed in a recent survey. Interestingly, the same execs cited greenhouse-gas emissions as one of their top concerns, and assumed there would be a push to develop "clean coal" technology -- or as we like to call ... |
|
| Topics: coal, energy, news (all these topics) |
|
|
Coal gasification: "clean coal" or subsidy-hungry boondoggle?
|
David Roberts |
13 Apr 2006 |
Gristmill |
| Governing magazine has an excellent, compact overview of current developments in coal. If you're hazy on gasification this, coal-to-liquid that, and Fischer-Tropsch the other, I recommend it. With oil and natural-gas prices rising and coal in plentiful supply, it's more or less inevitable that coal's going to get used, so it makes sense that (some) enviro organizations are biting the bullet and joining the push for the cleanest possible applications. There is ... |
|
| Topics: coal, coal-to-liquid fuel, energy (all these topics) |
|
|
Coal Decliner
Idaho legislature passes two-year moratorium on coal-fired power plants |
|
03 Apr 2006 |
Daily Grist |
| Coal Decliner Idaho legislature passes two-year moratorium on coal-fired power plants In a two-for-one snub of President Bush and Idaho Gov. (and likely future Interior Secretary) Dirk Kempthorne (R), Idaho's Republican-controlled legislature overwhelmingly passed a bill last week that would put a two-year moratorium on new coal-fired power plants in the state. The bill -- which says the plants "may have a significant negat ... |
|
| Topics: coal, energy, Idaho, news (all these topics) |
|
|
Peak oil, coal, and bizarre optimism
|
David Roberts |
28 Mar 2006 |
Gristmill |
| So last week Salon ran a big story on peak oil by Katharine Mieszkowski. It was decent, though focused a bit too much on the loony fringes. I guess the temptation to do that is irresistible when trying to make a long story about the Hubbert Curve and Venezuelan oil reserves compelling. In response, John Quiggen (at the usually excellent Crooked Timber group blog) wrote a response I can only characterize as bizarre. But the comments under the post don't treat it a ... |
|
| Topics: carbon sequestration, climate, climate change mitigation, coal, energy, oil (all these topics) |
|
|
Ethanol and coal
What's really disturbing about the new coal-fired ethanol plants. |
Tom Philpott |
27 Mar 2006 |
Gristmill |
| David's post about ethanol and coal inspired me to do a bit of research on just how much coal goes into producing G.W. Bush's favorite 'renewable,' 'clean-burning' fuel source. What I found is ... disturbing. First, some background. Before you can distill corn into fuel, you have to crush it. There are two ways to do so: wet milling and dry milling. According to this USDA document, dry milling accounts for about two-thirds of ethanol production, wet milling the rest ... |
|
| Topics: biofuels, coal, energy, ethanol (all these topics) |
|
|
Bait and Switchgrass
New coal-powered ethanol plant a sign of things to come |
|
27 Mar 2006 |
Daily Grist |
| Bait and Switchgrass New coal-powered ethanol plant a sign of things to come Greens leery about jumping on the biofuels bandwagon have new reason for trepidation: An ethanol plant that opened last December in Iowa is burning 300 tons of coal a day to transform corn into ethanol ... in order to beat global warming. Mmm, taste the sweet, sweet irony! The plant is no anomaly: The biofuels business is booming, with 30 to ... |
|
| Topics: coal, energy, news, renewable energy (all these topics) |
|
|
Repent, Ye Synners
Shady synfuel industry making billions off tax-credit loophole |
|
01 Mar 2006 |
Daily Grist |
| Repent, Ye Synners Shady synfuel industry making billions off tax-credit loophole A budget bill currently being hashed out in Congress may help a few dozen coal plants continue to get filthy rich off of taxpayer money. The backstory: In 1980, Congress enacted tax incentives for turning coal into synthetic fuel, requiring only that the coal be chemically altered -- not necessarily cleaner. The subsidy was designed to be phased ... |
|
| Topics: business, coal, energy, news (all these topics) |
|
|
The Legend of Weepy Hollow
An excerpt from Missing Mountains, a new book about mountaintop-removal mining |
|
16 Feb 2006 |
Arts and Minds |
| Missing Mountains, Wind Publications, 220 pgs., 2005. In August of 2002, Amanda Moore, a lawyer for the Appalachian Citizens Law Center, took on what she thought was a cut-and-dried legal matter for Granville Lee Burke, a resident of Chopping Branch Hollow in eastern Kentucky. Earlier that year, a flood that wreaked havoc throughout the hollow had severely damaged Burke's house ... |
|
| Topics: books, coal, energy, environmental justice, Kentucky, mining, Poverty and the Environment (all these topics) |
|
|
Moving Mountains
Mountaintop-removal mining is devastating Appalachia, but residents are fighting back |
Erik Reece |
16 Feb 2006 |
Main Dish |
| This article was originally published in Orion Magazine. Not since the glaciers pushed toward these ridgelines a million years ago have the Appalachian Mountains been as threatened as they are today. But the coal-extraction process decimating this landscape, known as mountaintop removal, has generated little press beyond the region. A mountaintop no more. Photo: Viv ... |
|
| Topics: Appalachia, coal, energy, environmental justice, health, Kentucky, mining, Poverty and the Environment, Virginia, West Virginia (all these topics) |
|
|
Coal companies sue feds for letting them slack on safety
|
David Roberts |
08 Feb 2006 |
Gristmill |
| After the Sago coal mine disaster killed 12 West Virginia miners last month, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) came under widespread criticism for failing to adequately regulate the coal industry and protect mine workers. Critics blamed the Bush administration for stocking the agency with coal industry cronies who wanted a more "cooperative" approach to safety regulations rather than serious enforcement. Now, one more group has joined th ... |
|
| Topics: business, coal, energy, mining (all these topics) |
|
|
SOTU: Coal execs confused, but pleased
|
David Roberts |
02 Feb 2006 |
Gristmill |
| The lede for this Wall Street Journal story is hilarious: Power-industry executives reacted with mild puzzlement to President Bush's proclamation that the nation needs to "invest more in zero-emission coal-fired plants" to wean itself off foreign oil. That's because oil isn't used much to make power and no one has yet developed a way to burn coal that produces no emissions. They go on to say, of course, that they're delighted to be the recipient of a ... |
|
| Topics: coal, energy, politics (all these topics) |
|
|
Coal Reversal
Climate campaigners warm to 'advanced coal' and sequestration, despite Bush backing |
Amanda Griscom Little |
16 Dec 2005 |
Muckraker |
| Climate campaigners warm to "advanced coal" and sequestration, despite Bush backing By Amanda Griscom Little 16 Dec 2005 Bush administration officials tried their darnedest to derail the international climate-change negotiations that wrapped up in Montreal last week. But in the midst of their bombastic no-no-no-ing, they did offer up one constructive idea -- a $950 million partnership between the U.S. Department of Energy and industry leaders to build FutureGen, a "p ... |
|
| Topics: carbon sequestration, coal, Department of Energy, energy, Muckraker, politics (all these topics) |
|
|
Freedom to Pollute Is on the March
New air rules could allow coal-fired plants to pollute more |
|
31 Aug 2005 |
Daily Grist |
| Freedom to Pollute Is on the March New air rules could allow coal-fired plants to pollute more The Bush administration may finally eviscerate the legal basis for many pesky air-pollution lawsuits against coal-fired power plants. A new proposal being drafted by the U.S. EPA would change the system for monitoring plants' emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide: after a plant modernized its equipment, ... |
|
| Topics: coal, energy, news, pollution and waste, US EPA (all these topics) |
|
|
Mining sex to sell coal
GE ecomagination commercial features model miners |
Sarah van Schagen |
13 Jul 2005 |
Gristmill |
| To promote the recently launched -- and somewhat idyllically named -- Ecomagination campaign, GE has been running a series of commercials highlighting its green initiatives. One in particular, focused on clean(er?) coal, has sparked a good deal of debate over its use of sexy models to excite more than the imagination, if you will. Josh Ozersky of The New York Times describes the 60-second commercial: As the spot begins, we hear Tennessee Ernie Ford's 'Sixteen T ... |
|
| Topics: business, coal, energy, TV (all these topics) |
|
|
Just Breathe
Facts and figures on air quality and Latino health in the U.S. |
Kathryn Schulz |
17 Jun 2005 |
Counter Culture |
| 14 -- percentage of total U.S. population of Latin American descent in 2004 (projected)1 Shouldn't she be breathing easy? 92 -- percentage of the U.S. Latino population living in urban areas in 20002, 3 80 -- percentage of Latinos living in counties that violated at least one federal air-pollution standard in 20022 57 -- percentage of non-Latino whites living in counties that violate at leas ... |
|
| Topics: air pollution, coal, energy, environmental justice, marine life, politics, pollution and waste, toxics, US EPA (all these topics) |
|
|
It's Not Your Overall Coughing, It's How Many Times You Cough Per Hour
Court hands coal-fired power plants huge victory on pollution regs |
|
16 Jun 2005 |
Daily Grist |
| It's Not Your Overall Coughing, It's How Many Times You Cough Per Hour Court hands coal-fired power plants huge victory on pollution regs The long-running legal battle launched by the Clinton administration against aging coal-fired power plants -- the nation's largest industrial source of smog-, asthma-, and global-warming-causing emissions -- was dealt a decisive blow yesterday by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court o ... |
|
| Topics: air pollution, coal, energy, news, politics (all these topics) |
|
|
Everything New Is Old Again
Wisconsin power-plant expansion could have long-term eco-consequences |
|
31 May 2005 |
Daily Grist |
| Everything New Is Old Again Wisconsin power-plant expansion could have long-term eco-consequences The fate of a Wisconsin coal-fired power plant could augur poorly for the environment, say its opponents. At issue is what does and doesn't count as a "new" power-generating facility: Under the Clean Water Act, new facilities are subject to strict regulations on cleaning technology; an addition to an existing ... |
|
| Topics: coal, energy, news, US EPA, Wisconsin (all these topics) |
|
|
That's Hot
States sue EPA over new mercury rules and the 'hot spots' they'll create |
|
19 May 2005 |
Daily Grist |
| That's Hot States sue EPA over new mercury rules and the "hot spots" they'll create A coalition of 11 states filed suit against the U.S. EPA in federal court yesterday, charging that the agency's recently issued mercury emissions rules, which establish a "cap and trade" system whereby coal-fired power plants can trade pollution credits, pose an unacceptable threat to publi ... |
|
| Topics: air pollution, coal, energy, news, politics, toxics, US EPA (all these topics) |
|
|
It Was Just My Ecomagination
GE kicks off ambitious green initiative |
Amanda Griscom Little |
10 May 2005 |
Muckraker |
| Last night, General Electric Chair and CEO Jeffrey Immelt canoodled with Congress members and industry top brass at a swish cocktail party on Pennsylvania Ave. in Washington, D.C., celebrating the launch of "ecomagination," an initiative he announced earlier in the day to ramp up development of clean technologies and lighten the company's Goliath-like environmental footprint. GE's ... |
|
| Topics: business, coal, energy, Muckraker, politics (all these topics) |
|
|
|
©2008. Grist Magazine, Inc. All rights reserved. Gloom and doom with a sense of humor®.