Global Coal Boom Accelerating Despite Obama’s Green Posturing

A bit of irony about Obama's "war on coal".

Seems other countries are actually stepping up coal production and coal generated electricity !!

So what is Obama and the U.S. supposed to do?

Why are we leading the attack on CO2 when we can't even control other "rouge" nations?

Where are the nuclear engineers when we need them.

Nothing like a lump of coal in the stockings hanging over the mantle of a wood burning fireplace at Christmas eh.


Global Coal Boom Accelerating Despite Obama’s Green Posturing

At the very moment President Obama has decided to shutter America’s coal industry in favor of much more expensive and less efficient “renewable energy,” coal use is surging across the globe. A new study by the prestigious National Academy of Sciences detects an unmistakable “coal renaissance” under way that shows this mineral of fossilized carbon has again become “the most important source of energy-related emissions on the global scale.” Coal is expanding rapidly “not only in China and India but also across a broad range of developing countries — especially poor, fast-growing countries mainly in Asia,” the study finds. Why is coal such a popular energy source now? The NAS study explains that many nations are attracted to “(relatively) low coal prices . .. to satisfy their energy needs.” It also finds “the share of coal in the energy mix indeed has grown faster for countries with higher economic growth.”

Loretta Lynn - Coal Miner's Daughter

a reply to: xuenchen

I'm confused why this issue has to do with Obama. Why is it Obama's fault that third world nations as well as China and India have decided to increase their coal consumption? Obama isn't the leader of those nations. He can appeal to those nations' leaders and ASK them not to use coal for energy, but he certainly has no say outside of that.

How about leaving Obama out of the discussion for once? Not everything is his fault, even if you can find a blog that seems to suggest it is.

Terrible op as usual, obamas war on coal is comical at best. Im still wondering how can you post daily garbage threads to fish for stars and flags.

Coal destroys people health and pollutes and destroy the environment.

But yea obama is bad bad bad, lucky you do, you get to vote for another bush.

a reply to: xuenchen

Yes, that is it in a nutshell.

The eco-totalitarians have never been about practical pollution reduction so they don't have to worry about whether they can dictate energy policy overseas.

As is frequently cited as the reason to not utilize our energy resources, we must lead by example.

Which I would be all for if we opened up the energy markets to modern fission reactors and actively promoted private space exploration for mining He3. But, that is not the case.

First let me say my family has been bought up through the coal industry. My great- grand father was a pit manager, my othe great-grandfather was head engineer at a pit.
Yes, it's very, very dangerous to mine coal, whether by accidents or disease. My father died of pneumoconiosis (that's coal dust on the lungs) very painfully. Yes coal is black and dirty and dusts up easily. But what the environmentalists complain about is the emmisions when burnt generating electricity.
The BS and lack of investment has given these people the genuine reason to try and ban coal fired generation.
ALL and I mean all countries that burn coal use the exact same system as they used a hundred years ago. Different methods to inject the coal into the furnaces but still the same crap coming out of the chimneys.
Now if the people in power where to spend a minute fraction of what they spend just setting up a nuclear power station on scrubbing clean the coal emmisions there would be no furore. Yes, the west tried for a certain time but decided nuclear was better. But I tell you now China and India don't care about any of that and just go ahead and do what they want.
You might be upset about the coal smoke on peoples health and on the environment but if these nuclear places fail (look at Fukushima). Nuff said.

a reply to: xuenchen

Why are we leading the attack on CO2 when we can't even control other "rouge" nations?

Well, first of all we are far from leading on this second why is American exceptionalism applied to some things and not others and third when did Obama become the leader of "rouge nations"?

a reply to: Grimpachi

He is the omnipotent messiah.

He is the leader of everything.

Gosh haven't you been following along!

a reply to: Grimpachi

"when did Obama become the leader of "rouge nations"? "


He has been accused of communism in the past. Now, in the case of "rogue" nations, I doubt they listen to anyone....

I got coal in my last Christmas stocking. I thought it was Santa knowing that I was a bad, bad boy. Turns out it was only Obama? Cool.

Coal is terrible. From mining conditions to pollution. And what does that have to do with Obama? We should have a "War on Coal" That's a industrial age relic that needs to go.

I saw where Australia is expecting to double their coal exports.
Meanwhile one of the largest coal producers in the US went belly up thanks to our greenhouse gas emission goals.
Just another 1,000 jobs lost from coal country.
Only jobs left there are doling out unemployment checks and dealing oxycontin.
But the economy has turned the corner and we have less unemployed than ever, right?
Keep polishing that turd, I'm amazed there's anything left to show after 6 years.

a reply to: Asktheanimals

How are people in the asbestos industry doing today? Some things go the way of the Dodo. Lamenting, as opposed to doing something proactive, isn't going to change that.

originally posted by: amazing
Coal is terrible. From mining conditions to pollution. And what does that have to do with Obama? We should have a "War on Coal" That's a industrial age relic that needs to go.

Fear not, the domestic enemy King Coal has been defeated.
The coal army vets will just go on welfare like the other half of the country.
How do you think the industrial revolution happened?
It wasn't through wind and solar.
There are technologies to burn coal cleaner and cheaper but that would interfere with politics so we won't see it.
Meanwhile China and India get to burn all that cheap, efficient coal they want and nobody says a word to them about it.
Maybe we need Blair Mountain or Matewan 2 to wake people up.

a reply to: xuenchen

How in the world is this Obama's fault? Or even problem?

OH, right, it's Obama. Forgot for a minute.

originally posted by: Asktheanimals

originally posted by: amazing
Coal is terrible. From mining conditions to pollution. And what does that have to do with Obama? We should have a "War on Coal" That's a industrial age relic that needs to go.

Fear not, the domestic enemy King Coal has been defeated.
The coal army vets will just go on welfare like the other half of the country.
How do you think the industrial revolution happened?
It wasn't through wind and solar.
There are technologies to burn coal cleaner and cheaper but that would interfere with politics so we won't see it.
Meanwhile China and India get to burn all that cheap, efficient coal they want and nobody says a word to them about it.
Maybe we need Blair Mountain or Matewan 2 to wake people up.

Just because China or India do something doesn't mean we should do it. Slavery helped build all the wonders of the world but doesn't mean we should have slavery. We need to move on from outdated technologies and ideas. Coal is a dirty energy source. Not just burning it but how it's mined. We need less pollution and more innovation in the world.

It's time to move on.

a reply to: seagull

Obama is making the regulations possible through the Executive Branch.

He made a big announcement the other day.

I think there's a lot of denial going on.

a reply to: xuenchen

What has that got to do with China? India? Last I heard, they were independant nations, which don't answer to Obama...

Unless that's changed in the past little while?

There are a large amount of coal mines that are being run in the USA by other countries. In a lot of cases, those countries own the mines. Germany, and others - this is a fact. I imagine Germany owns a lot of coal mines around the world, as they are in the middle of getting rid of all of their reactors (since the last time I checked).

Speculation - Maybe the idea is to sell all of the coal mines to countries that debt is owed to (as a way to wipe out a chunk here and there)? If that's the case, then there will be a lot more people without jobs down the road. I think the idea might be to sell American mines to other countries, but the other countries have to agree to let the US continue to mine and export the minerals.

a reply to: amazing
Now hold on a minute here. You speak as if slavery magically disappeared from the planet when some mighty being waved a wand! Are you truly that uninformed?
Slaves are digging the coal in China and in all likelihood, in India as well.
Magic fairies don't provide energy any more than they abolish slavery so stop fooling yourself that we can just declare some technology "outdated" and have an immediate solution pop up like in a Disney movie.
What exactly, is it that we need to "move on" to in this case?
We've spent billions of dollars putting scrubbers into coal-fired plants only to be told---not good enough---spend more. So we spend more. And Obama and his team come along and order the plants closed anyway, forcing us to pay more for imported energy.
Nobody wants a wind farm or solar farm in their back yard unless they're making the money from it.
Enviro-whackos don't want to dam rivers for hydro power.
The whackos don't want drilling for gas or oil.

You say we need to move on but are you continuing to purchase goods manufactured in China and India? If you are, you are supporting not only slavery but also the further pollution of the planet.
I would suggest that instead of "move on" we move back to the US for our goods, using US resources to produce goods to be bought and used in the US.
We do indeed have ways to influence what happens in China. Boycott their products. THAT would send a message to two governments at once and a whole wagonfull of corporate elites. Why can't we do that?

a reply to: Krazysh0t

I'm confused why this issue has to do with Obama.

Because the guy has been shutting down coal plants here in the US for the past 7 years using his lap dog the EPA.

Meanwhile.

China, and India, and building bigger, and newer ones.

Why the hell should OBama be left out of this discussion?

Obama To States: Shut Down Coal Plants Or Else

Read more: dailycaller.com...

Coal companies have been scorched under Obama

Don't know why some people just keep making EXCUSE after EXCUSE for his FAILURES.