War on coal (Hot Button column)

Washington Times ^ | 10/26/2009 | Amanda Carpenter

[markomalley]

While campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination, Barack Obama said his cap-and-trade tax plans would "bankrupt" anyone building a coal-fired power plant. Although those taxes haven't materialized, the Environmental Protection Agency has put the brakes on 79 surface mining permits in four states since he was elected.

The EPA says these permits could violate the Clean Water Act and warrant "enhanced" review. But the agency went even further last week, announcing plans to revoke a permit for the Spruce No. 1 Mine in West Virginia - a move that has caused anxiety among coal-state Democrats about the future of the industry under the Obama administration.

Mr. Obama's opposition to coal has been apparent since January 2008 when he told the San Francisco Chronicle he would clamp down on miners by enacting a cap-and-trade system that would make it too expensive to stay in business. "So if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can," he said at the time. "It's just that it will bankrupt them because they're going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that's being emitted."

Although his favored cap-and-trade bill hasn't yet been passed, West Virginia's Democratic Gov. Joe Manchin III, who supported Mr. Obama's candidacy, called the EPA moves part of a stealth campaign to stifle the industry.

"Right now, my belief is that they're trying to kill off surface mining through regulation what they cannot get done through legislation," Mr. Manchin told MetroNews Talkline, a West Virginia call-in radio program, earlier this month. In West Virginia, 23 permits are being held up, with other affected states being Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee.

[markomalley]

Obama's legacy: driving the US back to the stone age (except the nomenklatura, of course)

[markomalley]

I know, rules...

[chit*chat]

Are they now living their vote? If the State went blue they are in line for the change they endorsed.

[raybbr]

...a move that has caused anxiety among coal-state Democrats about the future of the industry under the Obama administration.

Frakkin' morons. He SAID he was going to do this and they still supported him.

[Virginia Ridgerunner]

Yep, even though Obama openly stated that he planned to put the coal industry out of business, the UMWA endorsed him and Democrat voters in West Virginia, Southwest Virginia, and Western Pennsylvania still voted for him.

Now, they are weeping and wailing as the mines are now shutting down en masse. Lots of buyer’s remorse in coal country these days, but Rat Congresscritters like Rick Boucher of Virginia’s 9th District are really feeling the heat now.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

They deserve what they get in 2010. Fired.

[TigersEye]

I’ll believe anything she says. What did she say? Nevermind, I don’t even need to know.

[HiTech RedNeck]

Coal states: Rats stabbing you in the back? Try the GOP, they will stab you less.

[MrB]

There are absolutely ZERO coal plants being built now.
Those that weren’t already near completion were abandoned.

And, the bastids are talking about destroying hydro damns as well.

It’s pretty obvious that they want to control PEOPLE by controlling their energy usage.

Of course, the “ruling class” will have no restrictions on their lifestyles whatsoever.

Never, though, has a “ruling class” ever faced such well armed “serfs”.

[MamaDearest]

It amazed me then that so many in coal mining country still went ahead and voted for Obama, despite his position on coal plants! Now they will deal with the consequences of those votes.

From November 2, 2008: Obama: We will bankrupt the coal plants

West Virginia Presidential Election

Winner: McCain +8.5%

[raisincane]

Here in Indiana our electricity is derived from 80% coal...we will pay heavily I’m afraid.

[marron]

Both Biden and the O were quite open about opposing coal mining and coal power plants.

I thought at the time it was great news, that this would shift the coal states into the Repub column.

Silly me. The coal producing states all voted O.

[businessprofessor]

Xcel has a coal plant in Colorado ready to open in 2010, but the rats are now launching an attack against it. They are now claiming that dangers of mercury emissions were not known at the time the permit was granted. Since the rats control state government, the future of this plant looks dim.

[WVKayaker]

Obama's Excellent Adventure

[Virginia Ridgerunner]

Flashback... UMWA endorses Barack Obama for President

The United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) today endorsed Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) for President of the United States. The endorsement came after a unanimous vote of the union National Council of the Coal Miners Political Action Committee (COMPAC) in favor of the endorsement.

We are extremely proud to make this endorsement today, UMWA International President Cecil E. Roberts said. Sen. Obama shares the values of UMWA members and our families. He understands and will fight for the needs our members have today and the hopes our members have for a secure future for themselves and their families.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

***There are absolutely ZERO coal plants being built now.***

AEP’s John Turk plant east of Texarkana, Arkansas is in construction phase. It will burn Powder River Wyoming coal.

[MrB]

The masochistic left does not want the civilization in which they live to prosper. There can be few other explanations.

The only other explanation could be that they think that they, with their pull or accumulated wealth, will be able to avoid the hardships they are imposing on others and be able to gloat their superiority over everyone else.

[TigersEye]

Of course, the “ruling class” will have no restrictions on their lifestyles whatsoever.

Oh, really? Are they going to produce all of their own energy within the confines of their gated estates? Not to mention food and water? I think they may find that there are severe restrictions on their life. Styles.

[MrB]

Seriously?
I hadn’t heard about that one and I know people in the powerplant construction field - someone’s got some balls there. 0bama promised he would bankrupt the coal industry.

[MrB]

Maybe the ruling class THINK there won’t be any restrictions on their lifestyles.

I have a relative that absolutely believes that the vehicles available to the masses should be restricted,

but that she’ll be able to keep her huge SUV “because I can afford it”.

[TigersEye]

I hope she can afford a good respirator because I'm going to burn old tires for heat upwind of her. ;^)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Democrat "No Domestic Energy Policy!"

• No domestic drilling.
• No new refineries.
• No new nuke plants.
• No new dams for hydro-electric.
• No coal.
• No shale.
• Deplete the SPR.
• Let Iran get nukes.
• Let Iraq fall to Iranian domination.
• No Canadian tar sands oil.

All of that puts the U.S. in a position that war for oil or
complete economic collapse will be our only choices.
You can't frustrate every source of domestic energy
without consequences. Our enemies will blackmail us
to the extent that we are vulnerable to blackmail.

The Democrats are leading us into a real war for oil.
A war we won't have the energy to fight. A war we don't need to fight because we have our own resources.

[mamelukesabre]

slightly less.

[CRBDeuce]

The UMW are volunteering for the Brown Shirt Army...their shirts are already brown!

[o_zarkman44]

The Rats kept touting “clean coal technology” and replacing the coal plants now in use.

Wasn’t Biden overheard, in one of his candid gaffes, saying there ISN’T ANY SUCH THING AS CLEAN COAL????

Voters got this one wrong. We have one chance in 2010 to get it back. Or America is toast.

[thackney]

There are absolutely ZERO coal plants being built now.

Tracking New Coal-Fired Power Plants
http://www.netl.doe.gov/coal/refshelf/ncp.pdf

See Page 6

Oct 2009:
Under Construction = 25
Near Construction = 3
Permitted = 9
Announced (early stages of development) = 47
Total = 83 new coal-fired plants in progress at this time.

[thackney]

Here in Indiana our electricity is derived from 80 coal

Try 93~94%

http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/state/state_energy_profiles.cfm?sid=IN#Datum

http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epa/generation_state.xls

[your local physicist]

You know what happened: after 28 years of mainly center-right economic policy from 1981-2008, many people just couldn’t believe that any administration would actually try to implement a hard left-wing, anti-business economic policy. They just couldn’t imagine that BHO and his administration would actually try to do all this crazy stuff. A lot of voters must have thought it was just campaign rhetoric to win the far left. No, he actually meant most of that rhetoric, except of course the moderate rhetoric such as, “if you like your current health insurance policy, you can keep it.” The American people are getting buyers’ remorse now, and finding out that this administration and the democrat congress are actually trying to implement most of the crazy policies they said they would implement back during the campaign.

[marron]

You know what happened: after 28 years of mainly center-right economic policy from 1981-2008, many people just couldn’t believe that any administration would actually try to implement a hard left-wing, anti-business economic policy.

I agree with you, and furthermore after a couple of decades of rather continuous economic expansion, people start to think that it is the permanent condition, they take it for granted. Most people don't spend a lot of time thinking about this stuff, and they do not see the connection between tax policy and deficit spending and liability law and environmental law and mortgage banking and fed monetary policy that makes an economy hum or come to a shuddering halt.

The Obamists are giving us a lesson in Remedial Econ 101 that we haven't had since the Carter years.

[Still Thinking]

Oh. My. Gosh.

Who is that? Can I have one?

[dennisw]

yup..... I didn’t think this maggot would govern so far left like a syphilis infected African dictator

Obama comes off real cool and calm but he’s actually a pea brained nihilist