THIS IS VERY LONG BUT PLEASE READ SO THE TRUTH ABOUT THE ANTI-COAL AGENDA CAN GET OUT: (*I completed this research and I am only basing my opinion on the data from government and newspaper websites. This is only my opinion and speculation, but where theres smoke…….) ** = My opinions Here is an article by Ken Ward Jr. wvgazette/article/20140731/GZ01/140739830/1419 Win over EPA won’t save Southern W.Va. coal, experts say **Now the first problem I have with this article is the well even if you allow them to mine, its still going to fail tone of the headline. How about this? How about we dont have a childish condescending tone that takes hope from the tens of thousands of families who make a living from the coal industry in southern WV? How about we try to utilize the coal we have available and maybe allow the coal companies to mine as long as they use economic development for their post mine land use. This way we are not only creating jobs while mining, but long after the life of the mine there is infrastructure in place to create new jobs. See: King Coal Highway, The Military base in Logan, Wood factory plant, 4 H camps, Boy Scouts, the Walmart site in Logan. ALL ARE POST MINE LAND USE SITES.** **The next problem I have with this headline is experts say…. The quotes in this story do make the future of coal mining in southern WV look bad, BUT lets take a closer look at those experts….** The first quote It just doesn’t look like coal there is going to boom in the future,” said Robert Milici, a researcher with the U.S. Geological Survey. “The best coal has been mined out. It’s pretty well gone.” - **So who is Robert Milici? AND most importantly, who is his boss? **Robert Milici is a researcher with the USGS and as many of us, he has to work under the guidance of his boss, Suzette Kimball.** **Who is Suzette Kimball? The Director of the U.S. Geological Survey.** President Obama has nominated Dr. Suzette M. Kimball to serve as the Director of the U.S. Geological Survey. Kimball has led the agency in an acting capacity since February 2013. If confirmed by the U. S. Senate, Kimball would lead the agency of more than 8,000 scientists, technicians and support staff in over 400 locations across the U.S. The USGS Director also serves as Science Advisor to the Secretary of the Interior, overseeing activities of the Department’s Strategic Science Group and chairing the team of nine bureau science advisors. Before assuming the USGS Acting Director position last year, Kimball served as the Deputy Director from 2010 to 2013; as the Associate Director for Geology from 2008 to 2010; as the Director of the Eastern Region from 2004 to 2008; and as the Eastern Regional Executive for Biology from 1998 to 2004. Kimball received a Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences/Coastal & Oceanographic Processes from the University of Virginia; an M.S. in Geology/Geophysics from Ball State University; and a B.A. from the College of William and Mary. Kimball has authored numerous publications on barrier island dynamics, coastal ecosystem science, coastal zone management and policy, and natural resource exploration, evaluation and management. **What bothers me about this is that Dr. Kimball was one to lobby for over $1 Billion from Obama for a spending blueprint for her agency.** USGSs acting director, Suzette Kimball, said President Obamas $1.1 billion spending blueprint for the agency, which is charged with collecting and analyzing data about natural resource conditions, illustrates the focus the new administration is putting on helping the Interior Department and others respond to the effects of climate change. Not only that but also for the Global Warming issue that she is very passionate about. The 2010 budget calls for a $54 million increase in agency funding above the 2009 enacted level, with $22 million of that going into the agencys climate change activities. Increases include $5 million to expand climate change monitoring to understand the Earths response to climate change and $5 million for the National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center to develop regional collaborative research efforts. The agencys climate change funding is part of a larger $133 million increase in the Interior Department agencies budgets to expand the departments role in addressing the impacts of climate change. **So the person that Robert Milici answers to was not only appointed by President Obama, but also received a massive amount of funding from him and has a huge interest in global warming. If you honestly believe this does not play into research analysis, then you are kidding yourself.** **I believe that Global Warming should be looked into, but I believe that the eyes researching it should not have a agenda in the back of their mind. As we have learned, using an agency (Like what has happened with the IRS) to get your agenda accomplished is nothing new to this administration. It does make for a power weapon.** The next quote to break down is…. “Central Appalachian coal mining is in decline because the thickest, easiest-to-access seams have been mined out and because natural gas and renewables are getting cheaper,” Evan Hansen, co-author of the Downstream Strategies report, said this week. “This is a reality that we need to address head-on, whether or not [the] EPA issues new regulations on coal-fired power plants.” **Who is this Evan Hansen?** Evan Hansens education - M.S., Energy and Resources, University of California, Berkeley, 1997. This interdisciplinary program combines environmental science, public policy, economics, and engineering. **University of California Berkley huh. Im sure they educate their students to be unbiased in terms of coal in Appalachia** **Here are some of his other publications…… I wonder if he has an agenda at all?** -Economic Development Research Group and Downstream Strategies. 2011. Failure to act: the economic impact of current investment trends in water and wastewater treatment infrastructure. -Elk headwaters watershed protection plan. Submitted to West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection. Downstream Strategies. -Measuring water quality improvements: TMDL implementation progress, indicators, and tracking. Downstream Strategies. -The benefits of acid mine drainage remediation on the North Branch Potomac River. Prepared for Maryland State Water Quality Advisory Committee. Downstream Strategies. -Plants not pipes: promoting green infrastructure and its side benefits in Region VI. Prepared for Region VI Planning and Development Council. Downstream Strategies. *Lets not overlook green infrastructure above and Green Jobs below.* -Orange water, green jobs. Solutions, v 1, no 4. -The decline of Central Appalachian coal and the need for economic diversification. Thinking Downstream: White Paper #1. Downstream Strategies. -Taxing West Virginia’s coal reserves: a primer. WV Ctr on Budget & Policy and Downstream Strategies. **So we decide to cite the author of Downstream Strategies as our source for the availability of coal in WV. A researcher who obviously feels that coal is an evil substance that has no business being mined. I am sure his data on coal reserves in WV will truly reflect what is best for WV.** **Lastly, lets look at this part of the article…..** “We show a pretty sharp decline, and then it flattens out, and we see some more decline later on,” Michael Mellish, a coal analyst with the EIA, said Thursday. [Mellish and other EIA officials noted that their forecast doesn’t account for any sort of federal mandate to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, because programs like the EPA’s proposed Clean Power Plan haven’t been finalized or taken effect. EIA projections don’t show Central Appalachian coal disappearing anytime soon, and slight production increases expected for Northern Appalachia, including Northern West Virginia, could offset some of the Central Appalachian decline. However, for West Virginia’s southern coal counties, the projected decline could have serious economic impacts.] **Now, on one hand he said that there is still going to be a decrease in southern WV coal, but on the other there will be an increase in northern Appalachian coal. So he is saying that if we are allowed to continue to mine coal, there will be a decrease in southern WV coal…… In other news, water is wet and fire will burn. No one is arguing that there will be a decline in coal if it is allowed to be mine. The problem we are having is ALLOWING THE MINING WITHOUT BEING OVER REGULATED OUT OF THE MARKET. When it is cheaper to import it from Russia, a RED FLAG should go up.* But anyways, who is the Senior Director of EIA? Adam Sieminski** Adam Sieminski was sworn in on June 4, 2012, as the eighth administrator of the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). From March 2012 to May 2012, while awaiting confirmation as EIA administrator, Mr. Sieminski served as senior director for energy and environment on the staff of the National Security Council. From 2005 until March 2012, he was the chief energy economist for Deutsche Bank, working with the Banks global research and trading units. Drawing on extensive industry, government, and academic sources, Mr. Sieminski forecasted energy market trends and wrote on a variety of topics involving energy economics, climate change, geopolitics, and commodity prices. *Adam Sieminski is another executive appointed by the Obama administration. Not to mention he has ties to the oil industry. Wonder if he wants his friends to reap some benefits?* **The last thing that bothers me about this article is that the only quotes that are opposed to the limited amount of coal in southern WV are from politicians. Politicians….. The only people that the majority of people left/right, conservative/liberal, republican/democrat, usually have the smallest amount of trust in. That is why I have problems with this article. **Let me give my honest opinion on all this. We are in the middle of an administration accomplishing what it set out. Bankrupt any coal burning power plant. What is the results of this? https://youtube/watch?v=3RevRZaZQpk 1. An over regulated industry that struggles to get a permit because a court house water fountain can not meet the regulations required for streams running out of mining sites. 2. The price of coal dropping because the continuous flow of coal to coal burning power plants plummets because of the carbon emissions regulations handed down by the EPA. (Around 1200 tons for a new power plant, when the most advance technological coal burning power plant can only lower theirs to around 1800 tons). It is like a P.E. grade school teacher telling his students that they will fail the class unless they dunk a 15 ft basketball rim tomorrow. (That teacher wants his kids to fail just as the EPA wants coal burning power plants to.) 3. Natural gas is cheap…. now. BUT what happens when every power plant is running off natural gas? Hope everyone likes blackouts and $1,000 electric bills. (Especially when over 80% of the extra power needed this past harsh winter was produced by coal burning power plants.) I know this is long and many will not read it, but I am sick of the agendas and propaganda. I am not a sheep that buys in to whatever the government or current agenda pushing people shove down my throat. I am not blinded by coal. I know it is not the future 20-50 years from now, but lets stop the nonsense and realize that it is the present. Until alternative energies can be fully explored, we can not rip the bandaid off. Even if these experts are correct and there is only 20 years of coal left in southern WV, lets us post mine land use for economic development. Roads, infrastructure, industrial sites, highways, airports, heck I even bet some of the coal executives would be interested in using reclaimed mining sites for alternative energy production. Lets give them a chance to mine the coal and even if these numbers are correct, we will have 20 years to use the coal companies to create something in Appalachia with a future. Then alternative energies will hopefully be advanced enough to take the load.**
Posted on: Sat, 02 Aug 2014 01:14:12 +0000
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