|
| Headline |
Author |
Published |
Section |
Boucher for Obama
The latest in a string of endorsements for Obama from red-state Dems |
David Roberts |
22 Jan 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Va.), notorious champion of Big Coal, has endorsed Barack Obama. Some greens are no doubt going to use this as evidence that Obama is too close to coal. I share the concern, but I don't think it's the most sensible interpretation of this case. Boucher's endorsement is just the latest in a string of endorsements from Democrats in red states -- including, crucially, popular Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine. (Two other prime Va. Dems -- Sen. Jim Webb, wi ... |
|
| Topics: Barack Obama, coal, elections, energy, politics, presidential race 08 (all these topics) |
|
|
Coal agit-prop heats up
Coal front group pouring millions into targeted disinformation campaign |
David Roberts |
19 Jan 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Speaking of reasons climate legislation is going to be impossible this year: It's good to see the Washington Post pick up on the coal industry's massive lobbying effort. The focus is Americans for Balanced Energy Choices (ABEC), which we've discussed before. WaPo's Steven Mufson uncovered a few details. Right now, ABEC is spending $1.3 million for ads in Iowa, Nevada, and South Carolina (not coincidentally, early primary states). It's also deploying street teams on th ... |
|
| Topics: climate, coal, energy, lobbying, messaging, politics (all these topics) |
|
|
The Coal War
Coal lobbyists step up their game |
|
18 Jan 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 1:08 PM on 18 Jan 2008 A group called Americans for Balanced Energy Choices is waging a $35 million campaign urging Americans to make one choice in particular: coal. As U.S. activists step up their protests against coal plants -- and find increasing success -- the industry-backed ABEC is running ads chirping that the black rock "powers our way of life" and "will help us with vital energy security." Radio, print, and TV ... |
|
| Topics: Barack Obama, coal, energy, news, politics, presidential race 08 (all these topics) |
|
|
Coal is the enemy of the human race: Goliath, meet David edition
Google invests in solar thermal company eSolar |
David Roberts |
18 Jan 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Today, Google announced it's investing $10 million in eSolar, a solar thermal company, as part of its RE<C project. (Speaking of the latter, we've got an excellent interview on it coming up soon.) Here's what esolar has to say about itself (PDF): To serve the renewable electricity needs of utility-scale energy providers, eSolar has developed a market disrupting solar thermal power plant technology. Generation can be scaled from 25 MW to over 500 MW at energy p ... |
|
| Topics: business, coal, energy, renewable energy, solar thermal power (all these topics) |
|
|
Massey Business
Coal company penalized for Clean Water Act violations |
|
17 Jan 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 5:16 PM on 17 Jan 2008 Massey Energy Co., the nation's fourth-largest coal producer, has agreed to a $30 million settlement with the U.S. EPA over allegations of Clean Water Act violations. Massey was accused of polluting streams and waterways in West Virginia and Kentucky with the detritus of mountaintop-removal mining on at least 4,500 occasions between 2000 and 2006. The company must pay $20 million in civil pena ... |
|
| Topics: coal, energy, litigation, mining, news, US EPA, water pollution (all these topics) |
|
|
Sebelius as VP?
Can the Kansas governor show toughness under assault from Big Coal? |
David Roberts |
17 Jan 2008 |
Gristmill |
| A certain faction of young progressive bloggers is fond of the notion of Barack Obama picking Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius as his running mate. She is a successful, popular, progressive governor in a red state, and has shown a real talent for bringing people together to produce practical results. That would compliment Obama's core message. (Then again, she's a woman, and if this race has demonstrated anything, it's that misogyny is alive and well in America.) What fa ... |
|
| Topics: Barack Obama, coal, elections, energy, Kansas, politics, presidential race 08, state politics (all these topics) |
|
|
Damage control
The widening war between activists and coal |
David Roberts |
17 Jan 2008 |
Gristmill |
| According to AP, at least 48 coal plants are being contested in 29 states: From lawsuits and administrative appeals against the companies, to lobbying pressure on federal and state regulators, the coordinated offensive against coal is emerging as a pivotal front in the debate over global warming. Music to my ears. Naturally, the industry forecasts an apocalyptic future where ponies eat puppies and rainbows cry tears of blood: Industry representatives say th ... |
|
| Topics: climate, politics, grassroots activism, energy, coal (all these topics) |
|
|
Two Evils
On nuclear vs. coal |
Umbra Fisk |
16 Jan 2008 |
Ask Umbra |
| Dear Umbra, I work for a certain large environmental organization, and I have often had to deal with the issue of nuclear and coal-fired power plants. If ever asked which is better, we are officially supposed to say "neither." But I think a response like that doesn't always work for the real world, so I'd like to ask you, oh answerer of environmental questions, which type of power plant do you think is best (or, least worst) for t ... |
|
| Topics: advice, Ask Umbra, coal, energy, nuclear power (all these topics) |
|
|
Silly Elliott
Court justice frolicked with coal exec while fraud case was pending |
|
15 Jan 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 2:21 PM on 15 Jan 2008 When found guilty of fraud and penalized $50 million by a West Virginia jury, coal company Massey Energy appealed to the state Supreme Court -- and won in a 3-to-2 decision. Now a motion has been filed to disqualify Justice Elliott Maynard from the case and withdraw his favorable vote, as pictures have surfaced of Maynard and Massey CEO Don Blankenship enjoying each other's company ... |
|
| Topics: coal, energy, jackassery, litigation, news, politics (all these topics) |
|
|
Charlie Crist Superstar
An interview with Florida's governor, a Republican climate crusader |
Amanda Griscom Little |
14 Jan 2008 |
Grist Feature |
| Charlie Crist. Photo:Steven Murphy/WireImage Meet Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, a surprising blend of Grand Ol' Party and bleeding-heart greenie. As a Republican, he defends the Bush administration's environmental record, but he also counts among his personal heroes Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who wrote an entire book condemning Bush as "America's worst environmental pre ... |
|
| Topics: climate, coal, energy, Florida, interview, politics, renewable energy (all these topics) |
|
|
Coal is not cheap, part XVXIV
|
David Roberts |
14 Jan 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Clean coal plants are dying on the drawing board. Why? Because ... stop me if you've heard this one ... coal can be cheap or clean, but not both. |
|
| Topics: coal, energy (all these topics) |
|
|
Watch the 'Face It' webcast
There is a silver-bullet solution to global warming |
Edward Mazria |
14 Jan 2008 |
Gristmill |
| The dialogue between this country's youth and key decision-makers during the important Focus the Nation (FTN) event on January 31st has the potential to become diluted and confused. If it does, another opportunity to move a segment of the country towards seriously addressing climate change will have been wasted. Shotgun Approach Falls Short Although every personal effort at reducing energy use and greenhouse-gas emissions is laudable and helps change the way ... |
|
| Topics: coal, climate, energy, climate change mitigation (all these topics) |
|
|
McCain on climate and coal in Michigan
Rubber, meet road |
David Roberts |
13 Jan 2008 |
Gristmill |
| So, McCain made a big deal out of climate change before the New Hampshire primary, sucking up to the state's independents. Now the Republicans are heading to Michigan, where there's an epic fight going on between environmentalists and massive rush of proposed new coal plants. Think McCain will take sides in that struggle? |
|
| Topics: climate, coal, elections, energy, John McCain, politics, presidential race 08 (all these topics) |
|
|
Gnashing my teeth over globalization
Can economic democracy make the global economy more sustainable? |
Jon Rynn |
07 Jan 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Worried about more coal plants, carbon emissions from transportation, and a crumbling infrastructure? Evidence provided by several recent reports point to one of the least explored causes of these problems: globalization, that is, the transfer of manufacturing capacity from developed to developing countries, particularly China. The mechanisms differ. The U.S. and Europe, which could manufacture using environmentally benign techniques, instead use old, polluting techn ... |
|
| Topics: air pollution, business, China, climate, coal, economy, energy, greenhouse-gas emissions, United States (all these topics) |
|
|
Bad combo
Cheap coal and $100 oil |
Tom Philpott |
04 Jan 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Amid vague talk of how $100/barrel oil might represent a kind of sea change, inspiring corporations and individuals to lower their carbon footprints, the smart money is betting on another direction: the burning of more coal.That's a harrowing trend. As NASA climatologist James Hanson recently put it:Coal will determine whether we continue to increase climate change or slow the human impact ... Increased fossil fuel CO2 in the air today, compared to the pre-industrial at ... |
|
| Topics: climate, coal, economy, energy, oil (all these topics) |
|
|
A Black Day
With oil prices rising, Asia turns to coal |
|
04 Jan 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 11:44 AM on 04 Jan 2008 You may have heard that oil prices are flirting with $100 a barrel; what's an oil-dependent, energy-hungry globe to do? In Asia, home to a third of the world's proven coal reserves, the answer seems obvious. Across the continent, billions of dollars are being poured into R&D of coal-to-liquid fuel and coal-bed methane extraction. Some tout the new technologies as clean 'n' green -- but coal by any other ... |
|
| Topics: Asia, coal, coal-to-liquid fuel, energy, news (all these topics) |
|
|
That's the Worst Idea We've Heard in an E.ON
Plans for new U.K. coal plant move forward |
|
03 Jan 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 1:45 PM on 03 Jan 2008 It's the week o' ill-advised energy choices in Britain, where nuclear power may soon get a boost and plans for the first new coal-fired power plant in decades are inching forward. A local government authority has recommended that Business Secretary John Hutton give the go-ahead to utility E.ON's proposal for a coal plant; concerned that Hutton might just do so, critics have a ... |
|
| Topics: coal, energy, news, United Kingdom (all these topics) |
|
|
Long, Long Sago
Two years after Sago Mine explosion, many mine-safety standards still not implemented |
|
02 Jan 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 4:57 PM on 02 Jan 2008 In January 2006, 12 coal miners were killed when an explosion in West Virginia's Sago Mine trapped them underground. In response, Congress passed legislation strengthening mine safety standards. Two years later, many of the standards have yet to be implemented, to the frustration of the United Mine Workers union. Says union president Cecil Roberts, "[The fe ... |
|
| Topics: coal, energy, mining, news (all these topics) |
|
|
China, coal, and the U.S. economy
More evidence that we're exporting massive carbon emissions |
Tom Philpott |
02 Jan 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Last month, President Bush signed into law an energy bill most remarkable for its timidity with regard to climate change. According to sometime Gristmill contributor Peter Montague of Rachel's Democracy & Health News, the 2007 Energy Act will reduce U.S. carbon emissions by just 4.7 percent by 2030 -- clearly not nearly enough to avoid risking dire climate change. (Montague leans on this study (PDF) for his calculation.) Given that we're quietly moving our most c ... |
|
| Topics: business, China, coal, economy, energy (all these topics) |
|
|
Survey says ...
Two thirds of likely caucus voters in Iowa think conservation more important than coal |
Sean Casten |
02 Jan 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Iowa Interfaith Power & Light, the Iowa Farmers Union, and Plains Justice have just completed a survey (PDF) in advance of tomorrow's caucuses. Short version: Iowans think that we've squandered chances to do something meaningful about energy, and that it's time we started to do so before building new coal plants. The executive summary is below the fold, but it's worth having a look at the whole presentation.A scientific, phone-based survey conducted by Opi ... |
|
| Topics: coal, elections, energy, energy efficiency, Iowa, politics, presidential race 08, renewable energy (all these topics) |
|
|
Solar cheaper than coal and falling
New developments in solar power make 'clean coal' look even dumber |
David Roberts |
26 Dec 2007 |
Gristmill |
| Let me be the last in the greenosphere to note that Nanosolar has shipped its first panels, and it's no exaggeration to say that this moment will likely be seen as a historical turning point. For a taste of the breathless anticipation around Nanosolar, read "innovation of the year" over on PopSci (or this recent piece in the NYT). Unlike so many other hyped green tech dreamers, the company is not just talking and researching prototypes. They're building fact ... |
|
| Topics: coal, energy, solar thermal power, solar voltaic power (all these topics) |
|
|
Perhaps He Had Too Much Eggnog
Tory leader David Cameron lauds |
|
20 Dec 2007 |
News |
| "green coal" Posted at 4:50 PM on 20 Dec 2007 British Conservative Party leader David Cameron said in a speech today that under a Tory government, Britain would be a world leader in "green coal" technology. Ahem: Coal. Is. Not. Green. That is all. sources: BBC News, The Press Association see also, in Grist: Coal is the enemy of the human race From the Archives March Orders. U.S. will b ... |
|
| Topics: coal, energy, news, United Kingdom (all these topics) |
|
|
Bush, Suboleski, and Blankenship
Bush appoints mountaintop-removal mining exec to key DOE position |
David Roberts |
19 Dec 2007 |
Gristmill |
| Yesterday we learned that the Bush administration has appointed Stanley Suboleski to the position of assistant secretary for fossil energy for the Dept. of Energy. In that position, he would "oversee projects such as developing clean-coal technologies and carbon sequestration, and polices related to fossil fuels." Suboleski is a long-time executive for Massey Energy, serving there in some capacity since 1981. His main role has been to help Massey evade or sh ... |
|
| Topics: coal, energy, politics (all these topics) |
|
|
'Even Santa is rethinking his position on coal!'
Coal industry kicks off a PR campaign aimed at influencing lawmakers |
David Roberts |
19 Dec 2007 |
Gristmill |
| Santa moonlighting on K Street? Photo: iStockphoto I heard from someone in downtown D.C. this morning who ran into a guy in a Santa suit who handed him a flier saying, "even Santa is rethinking his position on coal!" Yes, really. From The Hill: Americans for Balanced Energy Choices (ABEC) is sending 30 Santas to Capitol Hill on Wednesday to deliver stockings filled with coal-shaped chocolate. The goal of the campaign is to shift coal's ima ... |
|
| Topics: coal, energy, holiday, Washington DC (all these topics) |
|
|
Casten on FutureGen: 'Maddeningly stupid'
Grist contributor bashes 'clean coal' |
David Roberts |
18 Dec 2007 |
Gristmill |
| If you'd like to see our very own Sean Casten call the FutureGen clean coal project 'maddeningly stupid' -- about the only part of this segment that isn't creepy and upsetting -- you can do so here. |
|
| Topics: coal, energy, TV (all these topics) |
|
|
|
©2008. Grist Magazine, Inc. All rights reserved. Gloom and doom with a sense of humor®.