Guest essay by Eric Worrall
President Obama has just announced a 3 year moratorium on leasing federal land for new coal mines, pending a review of the impact of coal on the global climate.
According to Scientific American;
Obama Halts Federal Coal Leasing Citing Climate Change
The U.S. temporarily halts coal leasing on federal lands to reassess its policy in light of global warming
The Obama administration on Friday brought a temporary halt to new coal mining leases on federal lands while it conducts a three-year review meant to bring coal leasing in line with U.S. climate policy.
The moratorium comes just days after Obama said in his State of the Union Address that he would push to change the way the government manages its oil and coal resources to reflect the costs they impose on both taxpayers and the planet. The moratorium takes place immediately, but does not halt coal mining and production currently underway.
“How do we manage the program that is consistent with our climate change objective? There is no short answer,” Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said during a news conference. “It is also clear that we need to take into account the science we have now on the environment and climate change.”
About 40 percent of all the coal produced in the U.S. comes from mines on federal public lands, mainly in the West. As of the end of 2014, there were 308 active coal mining leases on more than 464,000 acres of public lands in Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico, Montana and Colorado, with an additional 10,500 acres in Kentucky, Alabama and West Virginia.
Burning coal and other fossil fuels for electricity is the largest single source of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions driving climate change, accounting for about 31 percent of all U.S. greenhouse gases.
Read more: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/obama-halts-federal-coal-leasing-citing-climate-change/
Obviously this is a potentially devastating development, for American families who depend on jobs in the US coal mining industry.
However there is another less obvious impact; As a result of failed green energy policies, Europe is becoming increasingly reliant on imports of cheap goal coal from America. If that supply of cheap coal is now threatened, the result might well be an economically damaging spike in already sky high European energy prices.
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There’s only one solution to the killer global warming scam: Your vote.
The old song “sixteen tons” and climate forecasting:
Some people say people are made outta mud
Alarmists and warmists, they’re chewing their cud,
Chewing their cud and follow Al Gore
A mind that’s a-weak can you ask for much more?
More than one megawatt, and what did they get?
Another prognosis and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don’t you call ’em ’cause you must let ‘em be
They sold their souls to the IPCC.
They came in one mornin’ when the sun didn’t shine
They picked up their papers and continued the grind
They had sixteen conditions, mostly falsified bull
And the straw boss said “Well, a-bless my soul”.
More than one megawatt, and what did they get?
Another prognosis and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don’t you call ’em ’cause you must let ‘em be
They sold their souls to the IPCC.
They came in one mornin’, it was drizzelin’ rain
their prognoses had failed them again and again
The boss harshly told them, You will do many more
Do as I tell you, and agree with Al Gore.
More than one megawatt, and what did they get?
Another prognosis and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don’t you call ’em ’cause you must let ‘em be
They sold their souls to the IPCC.
The threatenin’ drought, it just didn’t last.
and hidin’ the warming that occurred in the past
Their ol’ man Mann and his hockey stick.
Conditions like that nothing ever will click.
More than one megawatt, and what did they get?
Another prognosis and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don’t you call ’em ’cause you must let ‘em be
They sold their souls to the IPCC.
more: http://lenbilen.com/2012/05/05/forecast-of-drought-in-britain-brings-record-april-showers-time-to-change-climate-models/
this moratorium is valid until about noon on January 20th, 2017…
President Trump can fix this too… 😉
A big hole of coal – may be difficult to see a Barack Obama standing at the bottom of it.
But there he is. When you’re in a hole, stop digging; is the usual advice.
But the president is digging like a Stakhanovite.
US citizens are growing sick and tired of climate alarmism and its transparent dishonesty.
But Barack is making climate the flagship of his presidency,
dooming his party to November defeat.
The actual length of the “3-year moratorium” will be less than the 11 months left in Obama’s Regime. Time to buy KOL and TONS and ride them up.
The POS has 368 days left. NOT 3 years.
I’m sure Obama thinks the next President will respect his wishes, just like he would have respected a George Bush moratorium restricting transfers out of Gitmo. /Sarc
Caligula was no more insane.
If the goal is to move to another power generation paradigm, the first step is not to dismantle the existing power generation system but rather leverage it.
The current administration has now been in office longer than the time between JFK’s “before this decade is out …” speech and the moon landing. Imagine if this administration had vision from the outset.
Imagine if the early goal within this power generation shift had been to focus on the transition of Washington D.C. (federal land) to be entirely electric. With the idea of all power for transport, heat, construction etc. being electric within DC, we could leverage the massive coal deposits of West Virginia to produce the power necessary for the transition and subsequently to power the new electric infrastructure. And then to power the construction of the new power generation system whatever that may be.
We would see in a real world example the logistics of how well windmills/solar/hydro can sustain and meet all the requirements of a sizable urban center, and if it succeeds then we can extend this paradigm throughout the northeast corridor.
… and once we acknowledge that CO2 is beneficial to carbon-based life forms and the carbon cycle of life, then we could learn how to burn the coal where it resides in West Virginia and transport the power not the coal to the new grid.
Politicians push down the value of these companies so that their buddies, including George Soros, can swoop in and buy them for bargain basement prices.
Nuclear Energy Institute periodically provides an energy market report for the US power industry. http://www.nei.org/CorporateSite/media/filefolder/Policy/EMR/Energy_Markets_Report_Jan_4_Jan_8_2016.pdf?ext=.pdf
“The mix of generating units that supply electricity in the United States is undergoing a significant transformation. Many older coal plants are being decommissioned as the industry adapts to sustained low costs of competing natural gas generating units and the effects of environmental regulations.”
Since I have retired, I have not closely followed the market. The closest thing to a flat line is the cost of coal to make electricity. Magically ‘decommissioned’ coal plants start making power again.
Mild winters and summers make for cheap natural gas. I am old school. Making power with natural gas should be criminal. We need to heat our homes and dry crops. Those who fail to learn the lessons of history ….
Hey Mr Old School
What’s your opinion on this … picked it up from the British blog.
Package nukes by 2025 ?
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-18/mini-nuclear-plants-seen-in-u-k-by-2025-fluor-s-nuscale-says
Small reactors are great for ships. That’s what I learned on. However, nuclear power benefits from economy of scale.
I do not think there is a market for small stationary nuke plants.
Thanks Mr Kit
I see increased fighting over the concept of “federal lands”. States are soon going to unilaterally declare the return to the state of lands stolen by the fed. So far it has been the ranchers that have been making this fight. Obama is now spreading the fight to the blue collar coal workers (and their powerful unions).
This may be unconventional war.
This forces focus on natural gas including obviously shale plays. Of course, those shale plays also yield unimaginable quantities of oil.
Yesterday I heard that there are gas stations selling Regular for 80 cents a gallon in the Upper Midwest.
And meanwhile, OPEC are freakin’ freakin’!