NewsTrust - Coal - Most Recent Stories: News (Independent)

Gingrich On Climate Change

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

FactCheck - By Brooks Jackson - Dec. 07 (Fact Check) - Newt Gingrich went too far when he claimed that “I’ve never favored cap-and-trade.” It’s true he’s never favored the approach taken by Democrats, but he said in 2007 that he would “strongly support” cap-and-trade if combined with “a tax-incentive program for investing in the solutions”.

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Republicans for Dirtier Air and Fewer Jobs

Fri, 23 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - By Steven D - Sep. 23 (News Analysis) - House Republicans have scheduled a vote Friday to cripple the Clean Air Act. Their bill would allow more pollution of our air and change the way the Clean Air Act has been implemented over the past 40 years. I'm sure anyone with COPD, asthma and other respiratory and auto-immune disorders is simply thrilled that this a major priority for Republicans in Congress:

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Dear Big Coal: You're Not Above the Law | Truthout

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

truth-out.org - By Sarah van Gelder - Sep. 22 (News Report) - On Friday, two public interest groups asked the attorney general of Delaware to revoke the charter of Massey Energy, a company they call a criminal enterprise.

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Charles Scott Howard: The Miner Who Took On Big Coal

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - By Dave Jamieson - Sep. 14 (News Report) - On a July morning four years ago, Charles Scott Howard left his home in the mountains of Southeastern Kentucky and drove his pickup truck 150 miles to the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Lexington. A career coal miner, Howard was headed to the posh hotel to testify at a public hearing held by the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), a regulatory arm of the U.S. Department of Labor.

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Climate Change and Disaster in Montana

Sun, 17 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

readersupportednews.org - By Naomi Klein, - Jul. 17 (News Analysis) - 'So the flooding may have caused the pipeline spill. But here is the really uncomfortable question: Did the pipeline cause the flooding? Not this one particular pipeline, of course, but all the pipelines, and all the coal trains, and all the refineries and the power plants they supply?'

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Coal company: ‘Birth defects aren’t from mining, they’re because you’re inbred hicks’

Wed, 13 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Grist - By Jess Zimmerman. - Jul. 13 (News Report) - Babies born in areas with mountaintop removal mining have higher rates of birth defects -- we know that from a study that came out last month. But, say coal companies, that doesn't mean the mining CAUSES the birth defects! They could easily be caused by something else -- like, say, rampant inbreeding . A letter from law firm Crowell & Moring, representing the National Mining Association, rebutted the study's findings by saying they failed to account for "consanquinity." That is not a thing, but "consanguinity" is inbreeding. And inbreeding is a nasty (and false ) rumor about West Virginia, where a lot of mountaintop removal mining takes place. A Crowell & Moring spokesperson told Ken Ward, Jr. the West Virginia blogger who first noticed the epic foot-mouthing, that they hadn't meant anything by it: "Consanguinity is one of a number of commonly addressed issues in studies of this type, regardless of geography ... We did not ...

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Massey Energy Guilty: West Virginia Probe Finds Coal Giant Systemically Failed to Comply with Law

Mon, 23 May 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - May. 23 (News Report) - An independent state probe in West Virginia concludes that mining giant, Massey Energy, was responsible for the April 2010 explosion that killed 29 underground coal mining workers. It echoes preliminary findings by federal investigators earlier this year that Massey repeatedly violated federal rules on ventilation and minimizing coal dust to reduce the risk of explosion, and rejects Massey’s claim that a burst of gas from a hole in the mine floor was at fault. The report also notes Massey’s strong political influence, which it uses "to attempt to control West Virginia’s political system" and regulatory bodies. We speak with J. Davitt McAteer, who oversaw the probe and is a former top federal mine safety official.

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New charge filed against Massey security chief

Tue, 17 May 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Charleston Gazette - By Ken Ward Jr. - May. 17 (News Report) - the indictment alleges: These statements and representations were false … And, it alleges that Stover: … Had himself directed and trained security guards at Performance’s Upper Big Branch Mine to give advance notice by announcing the presence of MSHA inspectors on the mine property over the radio.

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Is Scholastic Selling Elementary School Kids on Coal?

Fri, 13 May 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Mother Jones - By Kate Sheppard - May. 13 (News Report) - Environmental groups are going after the world's largest publisher of children's books for teaming up with the American Coal Foundation to produce "The United States of Energy," a lesson plan designed for fourth-graders. The foundation, online at Teachcoal.org, is devoted to creating "coal-related educational materials and programs designed for teachers and students."

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Response to legal threat to coalcares.org from Peabody Energy

Fri, 13 May 2011 00:00:00 -0700

theyesmen.org - By Andy Bichlbaum - May. 13 (Other) - As even you may agree, the root of the problem is not Peabody, but rather our system of subsidies, regulations, and lobbying that lets your whole industry continue its lethal work. To make this clear, we have changed every instance of the word “Peabody” on www.coalcares.org to a rotating selection of the names of other large U.S. coal producers who, like Peabody, also need to be stopped from killing kids.

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State bans coal tar sealants in big win for foes

Thu, 05 May 2011 00:00:00 -0700

MSN.com - By Robert McClure - May. 05 (News Report) - Washington state has become the first in the nation to ban toxic asphalt sealants made from cancer-causing industrial waste that have been spread over vast swaths of the nation’s cities and suburbs. The toxic ingredients in coal tar-based sealants are turning up in ordinary house dust as well as in streams, lakes and other waterways at levels that concern government researchers. The chemicals have been found in driveways at concentrations that could require treatment by moon-suited environmental technicians if detected at similar levels at a toxic-waste cleanup site. The sealants are also applied on playgrounds and parking lots.

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Fayette Power Project, Coal Plant, Blamed For 'Environmental Catastrophe' (PHOTOS)

Tue, 28 Dec 2010 00:00:00 -0800

Huffington Post - Dec. 28 (News Report) - Visible above the horizon is what many plant specialists, environmentalists and scientists believe to be the culprit: the Fayette Power Project – a coal-fired power plant for nearly 30 years has operated mostly without equipment designed to decrease emissions of sulfur dioxide, a component of acid rain. The plant's operator and the state's environmental regulator deny sulfur dioxide pollution is to blame for the swaths of plant devastation across Central Texas. But evidence collected from the Appalachian Mountains to New Mexico indicates sulfur dioxide pollution kills vegetation, especially pecan trees. Pecan growers in Albany, Ga., have received millions of dollars in an out-of-court settlement with a power plant whose sulfur dioxide emissions harmed their orchards.

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Stopping the miners

Tue, 23 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0800

roanoke.com - By Tim Thornton - Nov. 23 (Special Report) - It was dark and cold when they climbed the mountain, following a well-worn path nearly to its crest. Scrambling the last few feet through meager underbrush, the men settled in to wait for the first hints of daylight.

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The Battle of Blair Mountain, Round Two

Fri, 12 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0800

Mother Jones - By Kate Sheppard - Nov. 12 (Special Report) - lawyers working for the coal companies in the area produced its own list of landowners who objected to the listing—after the deadline for comment had passed.... Listing advocates say that in addition arriving too late, the new list was full of errors—including the names of people who were dead and those who weren't actually the rightful landowners...They accused the coal companies of drumming up the list in order to prevent the site from being protected. "They'd like to get rid of the history and they'd like to take the millions of dollars of coal out of there as cheaply as possible."

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Koch, Chamber, Glenn Beck, Big Business Leaders Meet to Plot 2010 Election

Wed, 20 Oct 2010 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - By Lee Fang, Salvatore Colleluori, Riley Waggaman, Ben Kaldunski - Oct. 20 (News Report) - In 2006, Koch Industries owner Charles Koch revealed to the Wall Street Journal’s Stephen Moore that he coordinates the funding of the conservative infrastructure of front groups, political campaigns, think tanks, media outlets and other anti-government efforts through a twice annual meeting of wealthy right-wing donors. He also confided to Moore, who is funded through several of Koch’s ventures, that his true goal is to strengthen the “culture of prosperity” by eliminating “90%” of all laws and government regulations.

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Republican Global Warming Deniers Funded By Energy Industry

Fri, 15 Oct 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - By Lucia Graves - Oct. 15 (News Report) - Pennsylvania Senate candidate Pat Toomey raised eyebrows when he said in a local radio interview on Friday, that the degree to which human activity is...

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Coal Companies Look To Spend Big To Influence Elections With A 527 Group

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - By Katherine Goldstein - Jul. 29 (News Report) - In the wake of the recent Supreme Court ruling allowing unlimited spending on elections by unions and companies, coal giants are looking to form a group to pump cash into state races. Among the potential members is Massey Energy, the coal company notorious for the worst mining disaster in recent history when 29 miners were killed in April at its Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia.

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Manchin Appointing Fmr. Aide to Replace Byrd "Kabuki Theater Politics" to "Make Sure Coal's Will Be Done in the Senate"

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Bob Kincaid, Amy Goodman - Jul. 23 (News Report) - Governor Joe Manchin recently appointed former chief counsel Carte Goodwin to succeed US Senator Robert Byrd. We take a look at what the move means and issues surrounding mountaintop removal in Appalachia with Bob Kincaid, an internet broadcaster with the Head On Radio Network and a progressive voice from the Appalachian coalfields.

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Over the years, Byrd evolved on coal stance -

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Charleston Gazette - By Ken Ward Jr. - Jun. 29 (News Analysis) - in the last year, Byrd has become virtually a lone voice among West Virginia political leaders in criticizing the coal industry, both for mountaintop removal and over the refusal to accept the scientific consensus around global warming. After a highly publicized fact-finding mission by his staff a year ago, Byrd in December delivered a statement that urged the coal industry and its political supporters to "embrace the future," by working toward compromises on both mountaintop-removal restrictions and greenhouse gas limits.

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Wyoming aims to save the next generation of coal with carbon sequestration

Thu, 27 May 2010 00:00:00 -0700

trib.com - By Dustin Bleizeffer - May. 27 (News Report) - PacifiCorp’s Jim Bridger coal-fired power plant is Wyoming’s largest source of carbon dioxide emissions, generating about 18 million tons of the greenhouse gas per year. The pulverized coal-fired power plant happens to be located above geologic formations that scientists believe could provide one of the best CO2 storage sites in the nation.

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Disasters in Gulf Coast, West Virginia Spur Calls for Criminal Prosecutions of Corporate Execs

Wed, 26 May 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - May. 26 (News Analysis) - From the Gulf of Mexico to the Massey mine of West Virginia, scores of workers have died. We speak to Corporate Crime Reporter editor Russell Mokhiber, who says corporate executives should be held criminally accountable for the disasters under their watch. Mokhber is involved with a group of citizen activists who have just launched a campaign calling on the state of West Virginia to prosecute Massey Energy for manslaughter in connection with the April 5th explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine that claimed the lives of twenty-nine coal miners.

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MSHA mine disaster interviews to be closed to public

Thu, 06 May 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Charleston Gazette - By Ken Ward, Jr. - May. 06 (News Report) - Federal investigators will conduct key portions of their probe of the Upper Big Banch Mine disaster behind closed doors, but will plan a series of public events the Obama administration said would "bolster transparency and openness."...The UMW, Massey, at least two miners' widows and a coalition of media organizations, including The Charleston Gazette, had called for MSHA to hold the witness interviews in a public hearing.

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U.S. could eliminate CO2 emissions from coal in 20 years, experts say

Sun, 02 May 2010 00:00:00 -0700

ScienceDaily - May. 02 (News Report) - The United States could completely stop emissions of carbon dioxide from coal-fired electric power plants -- a crucial step for controlling global warming -- within 20 years by using technology that already exists or could be commercially available within a decade, according to a group of scientists, engineers, and architects.

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FBI Investigating Fed Officials And Massey Energy Over Possibly Bribery

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - Apr. 30 (News Report) - NPR News reports that the FBI is investigating the possible bribery of federal officials overseeing mining industry regulation by Massey Energy, the owner of the Upper Big Branch mine that exploded three weeks ago, killing 29 miners. "The Mine Safety and Health Administration is the target of a federal criminal investigation," NPR notes, and "FBI agents are also exploring potential criminal negligence on the part of Massey Energy."

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Addicts and Enablers

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Sierra Club - By Adam Minter, Guy Pearse - Apr. 27 (News Report) - China remains wedded to dirty coal, despite huge investments in clean energy. When its own supplies lag, other nations are happy to feed its need. Australia has suffered hellish wildfires and withering drought—and is asking for more through its massive coal exports.

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