COAL

<h3></h3><div>see COAL 2 for newer</div>

<a href="http://coalswarm.org/">http://coalswarm.org/</a>

=b2: 2000-02 coal gave $7.4 m but got as much as 3.3billion$, which then competes w/ green (parity)ceo peabody gave 100K for inaug
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<h1 class="title-blog">The Desperate Plight of Retired Coal Miners</h1>

<div class="blog_padding relative" data-beacon="{" style=" padding-top: 15px;">Posted: 02/28/2013 5:20 pm</div>

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I got an email from David Miller, a retired West Virginia coal miner and former president of a United Mine Workers' local, that made me both sad and angry. "Myself and other retired and active miners got on a bus at the Ohio Valley Mall and went to St. Louis to protest at Peabody coal," Miller wrote. "Some of the retirees were in their 70's. I sat listening while they spoke of their medical conditions to each other. Some had cancer, some problems breathing and many did not get around very well. These men took a bus trip that was about 11 hours each way to protest. The protest was on 2-13-13. Ten men were arrested."

These men who had worked at many different mines were there protesting at a time when they should have been playing with their grand kids and enjoying their senior years. They were there because they risked losing their pension and health benefits. They had mined the coal without which our lights would grow dim and there would be no steel to build our cities, and this was what was greeting them.

Their problems began back in 2007 when Peabody spun off a new company that they named Patriot Coal. They gave it 13 percent of the larger company's coal reserves, but a whopping 40 percent of future health care liabilities from 8,400 miners. These are massive obligations based largely on long past union contracts, and coal companies do whatever they can to get rid of them. Patriot went ahead and acquired a subsidiary of Arch Coal called Magnum Coal and loaded up with 2,300 more retirees health obligations. All told Patriot was saddled with $1.37 billion in future obligations according to The New Republic.

And then Patriot declared bankruptcy. The United Mine Workers is suing Peabody and Arch, saying they can't walk away from their obligations in such a blatant fashion.

This isn't the first time coal companies have figured out a way to avoid social responsibility. It's basically a way of doing business. Years ago, the A.T. Massey Coal Company figured out that they would mine the richest seams, give the lesser seams to their subsidiaries and the worst seams to contractors. In a brilliant series in 1993, the Charleston Gazette's Paul Nyden wrote that in the previous 13 years, the Massey contract operations "left behind more than $200 million in debts in Southern West Virginia and Eastern Kentucky alone."

Peabody and Arch seem to be following in a business tradition. The companies argue that they had no idea that Patriot would fail and it's not their problem.

David Miller and several thousand other retired miners think otherwise. "Do you think area newspapers print labor issues so people will know what is going on?" Miller asks. "Or do they just print stories that favor the radical right? What side is West Virginia Congressman David McKinley, Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito, West Virginia attorney general Patrick Morrisey, and Governor Earl Ray Tomblin on?"

Those are all good questions.

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mark h kpfa beyond coal spectacular success not well known, shut down 141? coal plants, BO rules piled on/driven by

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<a href="http://grist.org/news/have-coal-companies-been-ripping-americans-off-even-more-than-we-already-knew/">http://grist.org/news/have-coal-companies-been-ripping-americans-off-even-more-than-we-already-knew/</a> stiffs taxpayers?

http://grist.org/news/almost-half-of-all-coal-burned-in-the-world-is-burned-in-china/

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<h3>NW coal fronts: </h3>

edelman PR

<a href="http://daily.sightline.org/2012/12/13/look-whos-taking-coal-money/?utm_source=Sightline+Newsletters&utm_campaign=8434eb1aa7-SightlineWeekly&utm_medium=email">http://daily.sightline.org/2012/12/13/look-whos-taking-coal-money/?utm_source=Sightline+Newsletters&utm_campaign=8434eb1aa7-SightlineWeekly&utm_medium=email</a><a href="http://daily.sightline.org/2012/12/13/look-whos-taking-coal-money/?utm_source=Sightline+Newsletters&utm_campaign=8434eb1aa7-SightlineWeekly&utm_medium=email"> </a>

<h3>bhp billington armours plant against agw, but at least admits it's</h3>

<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/carl-pope/get-ready-for-more-climat_b_2235055.html?view=print&comm_ref=false">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/carl-pope/get-ready-for-more-climat_b_2235055.html?view=print&comm_ref=false</a>

<h3><a href="http://grist.org/news/the-world-plans-to-build-1200-new-coal-plants-because-climate-change-is-happening-too-slowly-i-guess/">http://grist.org/news/the-world-plans-to-build-1200-new-coal-plants-because-climate-change-is-happening-too-slowly-i-guess/</a></h3>

NW? indian tribes fight; freefall leads to export:

<a href="http://sightline.us2.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=68f459341f4f6a1872189d42a&id=11cdb50f72&e=438ec441d5">http://sightline.us2.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=68f459341f4f6a1872189d42a&id=11cdb50f72&e=438ec441d5</a>

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new ads: <a href="http://grist.org/news/new-coal-ads-industry-hits-obama-obama-hits-romney/">http://grist.org/news/new-coal-ads-industry-hits-obama-obama-hits-romney/</a>

unpaid miners shanghai'd

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Here is the ranking of the top coal mining company contributors in the 2011-2012 campaign cycle, as of July 2011:<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Coal_money_in_politics#cite_note-1">[2]</a>

<ol>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Alpha_Natural_Resources" title="Alpha Natural Resources">Alpha Natural Resources</a> $127,451</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Murray_Energy" title="Murray Energy" class="mw-redirect">Murray Energy</a> - $111,796</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Mepco&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Mepco (page does not exist)">Mepco</a> - $72,700</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/CONSOL_Energy" title="CONSOL Energy">CONSOL Energy</a> - $59,400</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Arch_Coal" title="Arch Coal">Arch Coal</a> - $58,860 - (plus an additional $13,700 through merger with <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/International_Coal_Group" title="International Coal Group">International Coal Group</a>, for $72,560 total)</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Peabody_Coal" title="Peabody Coal" class="mw-redirect">Peabody Coal</a> - $57,000</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Patriot_Coal" title="Patriot Coal">Patriot Coal</a> - $49,200</li>

</ol>

The coal industry made a total of $8 million in campaign donations from January to June 2011, according to the Wall Street Journal.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Coal_money_in_politics#cite_note-2">[3]</a>

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Coal_money_in_politics

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yahoo news

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Call it the Keystone of coal: a regulatory and public relations battle between environmentalists and U.S. coal miners akin to the one that has defined the Canada-to-Texas oil pipeline.

Instead of blocking an import, however, this fight is over whether to allow a growing surplus of coal to be exported to Asia, a decision that would throw miners a lifeline by effectively offshoring carbon emissions and potentially give China access to cheaper coal.

Having long ago lost their bid to prevent the extraction of fossil fuels, environmental groups aim to close transport routes that bring those carbon fuels to market, pulling local and state politicians into the fight alongside regulators.

Mining interests won a battle last week when the Army Corps of Engineers called for a quick study of plans to open the first coal port on the west coast at Oregon's Port of Morrow on the Columbia River, a review that will weigh impacts of hauling coal, not burning it.

Coal port skeptics say the ruling is ripe for challenge in the courts and they foresee a drawn-out fight over the review.

"I'm afraid that by choosing to perform a less stringent analysis today, the Corps will ultimately create a longer delay," Oregon Senator Ron Wyden said in a statement. Wyden, who is due to lead the Energy and Natural Resources Committee if Democrats hold the Senate, has said he supports a full review of the project and is reserving judgment until it is completed.

Delay is something miners can ill afford.

Alpha Natural Resources Inc, one of the country's largest coal producers, said last week it is cutting 1,200 jobs, roughly 9 percent of its workforce, as increased use of natural gas for power generation dents demand.

While coal foes in the Pacific Northwest can stymie the projects, the federal government will have the final say.

If President Barack Obama wins a second term, the issue will likely test his determination to curb the use of fossil fuels blamed for climate change, especially since his policies are partly behind miners' yearnings for Asian markets.

Tough new Environmental Protection Agency limits on power plant emissions are often blamed, along with low natural gas prices, for the drop in domestic coal use, but burning the black rock in Asia will have the same impact on the atmosphere.

No matter who wins the election, the intensifying fight ahead over coal ports is raising Keystone-like questions about energy priorities in a time when traditional fuels are still abundant.

COAL ABOUNDS

About 40 percent of the country's coal comes from the Powder River Basin - a high, grassy plain in eastern Wyoming and Montana where the black fuel runs in seams near the surface.

With nearly 9 percent of U.S. coal furnaces set to go dark in the next four years and more utilities moving to natural gas, the 100 billion tons of coal still locked in the region need to reach new markets or face being frozen in the ground.

A Pacific Northwest coal port would aid mining giants such as Arch Coal and Peabody Energy Corp that dominate the basin and are in a worldwide race to meet Asian demand.

The United States holds the world's largest coal reserves, but China, with the world's third-largest share, is tapping more of its own reserves and boosting imports from Australia, Indonesia and even Colombia as its economy continues to grow. India, too, is hungry for coal.

U.S. coal exports have more than doubled in the past two years to reach a record nearly 29 million tons in the first three months of the year. Roughly a quarter of that already heads to Asia, mostly via Gulf Coast ports.

Analysts say Powder River Basin coal must cheaply reach Asia in the coming years to catch the strong demand in China, the world's No. 2 economy, and the rest of the region.

"The United States has no unique advantage in meeting the Asia coal hunger, and that demand will not exist forever," said Ailun Yang, a researcher with the World Resources Institute.

REGULATORY FIGHT

Last week's decision by the Army Corps was an important victory for miners since the big impacts of coal use will not be studied.

The Army Corps, which received more than 30,000 comment letters about the Port of Morrow plans, said on its website that it generally conducts narrow reviews, "in this case, the construction of the dock facility."

But the narrow study envisioned by the Army Corps could yet morph into a sweeping review if officials have a change of heart in light of a huge public outcry or if the courts step in.

Feeding Chinese furnaces with U.S. coal could add hundreds of millions of tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, a cause of climate change that Obama has pledged to fight and one that anti-coal activists want considered by the Army Corps.

"They have to consider not just moving the coal but burning it," said Nathaniel Shoaff, an attorney with the Sierra Club, which wants officials to consider climate-change concerns before writing rules on shipping or issuing permits to mine federal land.

Those who oppose coal want the Army Corps to halt the handful of coal port plans until it studies the impact on the climate, a process that could take years.

LEGAL ISSUES

In a courtroom the fight could center on a reading of the National Environmental Policy Act from 1970, which requires federal agencies to study "all major federal actions that significantly affect the quality of the human environment."

Courts now expect climate-change consequences to be weighed under NEPA, so the question is how much Obama or his successor wants to consider the external costs associated with developing and burning coal, says Mark Squillace, who leads the natural resources law center at the University of Colorado.

"There is no doubt that officials have the authority, and I would say obligation, but it's not clear what will be the policy," he said.

Arch Coal and Peabody declined to comment about the coal port project.

If the Port of Morrow project is thwarted, miners may have luck at one of the handful of other projects on the table.

In the state of Washington, just north of Oregon, the governor has been more receptive to the idea of allowing coal shipments from the Longview docks.

Supporters of the coal port plans say they are prepared for a war of attrition against those who would stand in the way of energy companies' finding markets for U.S. energy abundance.

"Before the Civil War, (battlegrounds) like Antietam and Gettysburg were mostly unheard of," said Bill Kovacs, a senior energy advisor with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which is lending help to the mining sector.

"Now the fight for a sensible energy policy is being fought on the same scale in places like the Port of Morrow and Longview."

(Editing by Jonathan Leff and Prudence Crowther)

</div>

===

The House approved a bill Friday morning that would significantly deregulate the coal industry, in a vote that was the last legislative act of the House before the November election.

The Stop the War on Coal Act, H.R. 3409, was approved in a 233-175 vote, although as usual, the bill many Democrats described as anti-environmental still found some Democratic support — 19 Democrats voted for it.

The legislation is a combination of five bills that would overturn or prevent an array of regulations that Republicans say would harm the coal industry and the economy. Among other things, it would block the Environmental Protection Agency's ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and other sources, and prevent rules on the storage and disposal of coal ash and limit Clean Water Act rules.

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It would also prevent potential Interior Department rules to toughen environmental controls on mountaintop removal coal mining, and thwart other air emissions rules, including air toxics standards for coal-fired power plants.

Republicans say the bill is needed because power companies plan to close some coal-fired plants due to the EPA's air emissions rules, and because of additional EPA and Interior Department rules affecting coal mining. The GOP says that taken together, the Obama administration's regulations on the industry amount to a "war on coal."

The White House has threatened to veto the bill, arguing it would gut vital protections and presents a false choice between economic growth and public health safeguards. But the veto threat will not be an issue, as the Senate will not consider the bill before it leaves for the election.

Still, it provided Republicans an election-season messaging platform to argue that President Obama's environmental policies are bad for the economy.

During debate this week, Republicans reminded their colleagues that when Obama was running for office in 2008, he warned that he would seek to bankrupt the coal industry.

"It was the President, when he was a candidate, that said that his policies, if enacted, would cost coal jobs," Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Wash.), the chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, said Thursday. "For nearly four years, we have seen evidence of that."

Hastings and other Republicans cited Obama's comments in 2008, when he said that people wanting to build a coal-fired power plant would still be able to do so under his administration, although doing this would "bankrupt them because they're going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that's being emitted."

As evidence that the "war on coal" is being waged, Republicans cited this week's announcement from mining giant Alpha Natural Resources that it would cut 1,200 jobs and idle eight mines in three states.

Democratic opponents of the bill argued that the coal industry is not being hurt by regulation, but instead by competition from other energy sources, notably low-cost and abundant natural-gas supplies.

"When the Republicans say there is a war on coal, in a market sense, yes, there is a war," Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) said. "In the same sense that when we started carrying BlackBerrys, it was a war on the black rotary-dial phone; in the same sense that when we started using Macs and PCs, it was a war on typewriters; in the same sense that the horseless carriage was a war on horses; in the same sense that refrigerators were a war on salted meats; in the same sense that the telegraph was a war on carrier pigeons."

Before the final vote, the House approved two amendments that would require the government to publish the scientific data it uses as a basis for writing regulations. Another Republican amendment that was accepted would require the secretary of Transportation to estimate the number of jobs lost due to auto emission standards.

The House rejected several Democratic amendments, including one from Energy and Commerce ranking member Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) that would have struck language repealing the EPA's 2009 scientific finding that carbon pollution endangers public health. That finding provides the legal underpinning for EPA climate change regulations.

The lower chamber will return after the election for a lame-duck session.

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The <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/house/250957-house-approves-coal-deregulation-bill-in-last-act-before-election">"Stop the War on Coal Act"</a> (H.R. 3409) would take away the power to regulate a lot of things—mountaintop-removal coal mining, greenhouse gas emissions, coal ash disposal, mercury and air toxins. Democrats on the Energy and Commerce Committee <a href="http://democrats.energycommerce.house.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Short%20HR%203409%20Fact%20Sheet_1.pdf">calls the the legislation</a> the "single worst anti-environment bill to be considered in the House this Congress."

It's just all kinds of bad—throwing out many rules dealing with coal and preventing the EPA and the Department of Interior from regulating in the future. That includes both coal mining and coal burning in power plants. The House passed the bill by a vote of 233 to 175, which included 19 Democrats who voted for it as well. This is the last vote the House will take before the election, which is no coincidence. The bill isn't going pass; it's only meant to be an instrument to bludgeon Obama and other Democrats, which has been <a href="http://energycommerce.house.gov/press-release/house-battle-obamas-war-coal-next-week">very clear</a> from Republicans' remarks.

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<h1 class="headline">House passes terrible ‘Stop the War on Coal’ bill before heading to recess</h1>

By <a href="http://grist.org/author/philip-bump/" title="Posts by Philip Bump">Philip Bump</a>

We haven’t yet mentioned the “Stop the War on Coal Act” in these humble pages, for four reasons. First, there is not a “war on coal,” though the world would be a better place if there were. Second, the legislation is basically an attempt to troll advocates for the environment, so to Hell with that. Third, it’s not going to pass the Senate, and even if it did, Obama wouldn’t sign it, and even if it did and Obama lost and it came before Romney, he wouldn’t sign it. Fourth, it’s so deeply, cynically political that it’s embarrassing.

This bill is <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/house/250953-house-accepts-more-gop-amendments-to-coal-bill-en-route-to-passage">loaded with exceptionally shitty nonsense</a>. Kate Sheppard <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2012/09/house-passes-extra-terrible-pro-coal-heading-home">has a good write-up at Mother Jones</a>. (They’ve had a good week.) She explains that the bill …

… would take away the power to regulate a lot of things — mountaintop-removal coal mining, greenhouse gas emissions, coal ash disposal, mercury and air toxins. …

It’s just all kinds of bad — throwing out many rules dealing with coal and preventing the EPA and the Department of Interior from regulating in the future. That includes both coal mining and coal burning in power plants.

</blockquote>

The bill was passed in the House 233 to 175 on Friday, the last thing members did before walking out the doors of the Capitol and down the marble stairs into the sunset. AP <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=161583559">summarizes their triumphant year</a>:

The most partisan, least productive Congress in memory is bolting Washington for the campaign trail, leaving in its wake a pile of unfinished business on the budget and taxes, farm policy and legislation to save the Postal Service from insolvency.

The GOP-controlled House beat its retreat Friday morning after one last, futile slap at President Barack Obama — passing a bill called the “Stop the War on Coal Act.”

</blockquote>

This Congress — well, this House — was such a complete and utter embarrassment that it’s an affront to the concept of democracy. If I’d heard that the House passed a bill that gave me a million dollars a year and donated the same to my favorite charities, I’d speak out against it simply because I’d know it was a terrible bill since the House passed it. Any legislation that came out of the chamber over the past six months should be stamped with a Mr. Yuk sticker and buried in Yucca Mountain.

These cynical jerks are guffawing in their town cars on the way to the airport right now, smacking each other on the back as they celebrate the political coup they delivered to President Obama. Which they didn’t, of course. The only state that gives half a shit about coal that makes any difference in the presidential race is Ohio, and Obama’s <a href="http://polltracker.talkingpointsmemo.com/contests/states/OH">up at least three points there</a> and gaining. The areas that care about coal in the state are the areas next to Kentucky and West Virginia, and those areas aren’t voting for Obama anyway.

There’s <a href="http://mediamatters.org/research/2012/09/20/myths-and-facts-about-coal/190041">no goddamn war on coal</a>. There’s a war on pollution; there’s a futile Maginot of an effort to slightly slow down the rate at which we’re dumping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. And the duly elected representatives of these great United States are defecating out nonsense gimmicks in an attempt to put three little points on the board in a game where they’re coming off the bench.

The Republican leadership in the House of Representatives could not care less about the legacy it is leaving for its party, its districts, or the United States. They can’t draw a straight fucking line between the worst drought in decades and the coal plants that, day in and day out, belch out pollution. Someday someone will come to you, honorable members, or to your kids or to your grandkids and ask why you didn’t do anything to halt the pollution even while you cashed the coal industry’s checks. That will probably be less pleasant than whatever fundraiser you’re headed to tomorrow night.

grist

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nascar guy spokesperson <a href="http://grist.org/news/why-does-dale-earnhardt-jr-hate-the-air/">http://grist.org/news/why-does-dale-earnhardt-jr-hate-the-air/</a>

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<h1 class="entry-title">Proposed Bill Gives Coal Companies Unlimited Power</h1>

by Roberta Seldon on <abbr class="published" title="2012-04-24">April 24, </abbr>

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U.S. coal companies may end up with unlimited power if a bill Congress is currently considering becomes law – and that could lead to further destruction of the environment while posing a serious risk to the health of the general public.

The Coal Miner Employment and Domestic Energy Infrastructure Protection Act, also known as <a href="http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c112:H.R.3409.IH:">H.R.3409</a>, has been touted by Republicans as a job-saving plan. H.R.3409 “prevents the Obama Administration’s unnecessary and rushed rewrite of a coal mining regulation that took over five years of environmental analysis and careful scientific consideration to complete,” a <a href="http://naturalresources.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=282707">press release</a> appearing on the Natural Resources Committee’s website says.

“We are now one step closer to stopping President Obama’s war on the coal industry and the jobs that go with it. There is no question that coal is vital to providing reliable, low cost electricity to America. This important legislation would block President Obama’s proposed rewrite of the Stream Buffer Zone rule that would cost over 100,000 direct and indirect coal jobs and cause energy prices to skyrocket,” Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio) who sponsored the proposed bill, said, according to the press release.

“Right now, Americans are experiencing firsthand President Obama’s destructive energy policies that are continuing to make our economy worse. Since the President took office, gas prices at the pump have doubled, unemployment has increased, and Americans are paying, on average, $300 more per year for electricity. Hard-working Americans cannot afford this administration’s failed energy policies anymore.”

According to the text of the proposed legislation, H.R.3409 would also prohibit the Secretary of the Interior – before December 31, 2013 – from issuing or approving any proposed or final regulation under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 that would:

<ol>

<li>adversely impact employment in coal mines in the United States;</li>

<li>cause a reduction in revenue received by the Federal Government or any State, tribal, or local government, by reducing through regulation the amount of coal in the United States that is available for mining;</li>

<li>reduce the amount of coal available for domestic consumption or for export;</li>

<li>designate any area as unsuitable for surface coal mining and reclamation operations; or</li>

<li>expose the United States to liability for taking the value of privately owned coal through regulation</li>

</ol>

The legislation was co-sponsored by 18 members of Congress:

Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett (R-Md.)

Rep. Rick Berg (R-N.D.)

Rep. Larry Bucshon (R-Ind.)

Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.)

Rep. Bill Flores (R-Texas)

Rep. Paul A. Gosar (R-Ariz.)

Rep. Gregg Harper (R-Miss.)

Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.)

Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.)

Rep. Steven C. LaTourette (R-Ohio)

Rep. David B. McKinley (R-W.Va.)

Rep. David P. Roe (R-Tenn.)

Rep. Harold Rogers (R-Ky.)

Rep. Todd Rokita (R-Ind.)

Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.)

Rep. Steve Stivers (R-Ohio)

Rep. Patrick J. Tiberi (R-Ohio)

Rep. Don Young (R-Ala.)

</div>

http://securityandsustainabilityforum.org/proposed-bill-gives-coal-companies-unlimited-power-2620

<a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2012/04/blankenship-may-be-gone-but-coal-lo.html">http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2012/04/blankenship-may-be-gone-but-coal-lo.html</a>

<h1 class="asset-name" style="color: rgb(132, 22, 40);">Two Years After Mine Disaster, Coal Lobby Is Still Growing</h1>

<div class="asset-meta"> By <a target="_blank" href="http://opensecrets.org/news">Russ Choma</a> on April 5, 2012 4:40 PM

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<div>Two years ago today, the Upper Big Branch mine exploded, killing 29 miners and injuring two others. In the months after the tragedy, it became clear that the mine's owner, Massey Energy, had flouted safety requirements and tried to game the system. Led by CEO Don Blankenship, the company <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2010/04/massey-energy-owner-of-ill-fated-co.html">unapologetically pursued politicians</a> at both the state and federal levels, dumping cash into campaigns and lobbying hard for less oversight.

</div>

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<div>Investigations into the disaster found that the company had successfully skirted orders to improve the safety of the mine, despite fines and warnings from regulators. In 2010, Blankenship resigned, and a few months later the company was sold to <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?id=D000031430&year=2011">Alpha Natural Resources</a>.

</div>

<div>But the departure of the pugnacious coal executive, eager to use his money to influence power, hasn't lessened the industry's investment in Washington. In fact, <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/index.php">OpenSecrets.org</a> data shows that the amount of money spent by the coal industry on politicians and lobbying has only grown since the disaster.

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<div>In 2011, the industry spent at least <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/lobbying.php?cycle=2012&ind=E1210">$18.1 million lobbying</a> on the federal level - millions more than the $14.9 million in 2009. That figure includes all types of companies with interests in coal, but the mining companies spend far and away the most money on lobbying -- companies like <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?id=D000020856&year=2011">Peabody Energy</a>, which spent $4.9 million last year, and <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?id=D000025108&year=2011">CONSOL Energy</a>, which spent $3.2 million. Massey's corporate successor, <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?id=D000031430&year=2011">Alpha Natural Resources</a> spent just over $1 million. Safety issues and mine oversight was an issue of concern listed on lobbying disclosure forms for all three companies. </div>

<div>

</div>

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<div>To put that in perspective, the <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?id=D000000238&year=2011">United Mine Workers</a>, the largest miner's union, spent just $404,419 lobbying last year.</div>

<div>

<div>The industry's figures overall are slightly down compared to 2010, but are significantly higher than before the accident. Although there is evidence that mine safety has improved since the explosion, Congress has failed to pass any legislation addressing it. The correlation between lobbying expenditures and legislation, or lack thereof, is never clear -- but it's clear where campaign contributions go and who's pushing or resisting new legislation.

</div>

<div>

</div>

<div>As a recent hearing on efforts by the <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/agencysum.php?id=061">Mine Health and Safety Administration</a> (the agency responsible for overseeing mine safety) showed, <a target="_blank" href="http://finance.yahoo.com/news/dems-msha-ask-more-teeth-191950781.html">Democrats are the ones pushing for new laws</a>. And the industry has given far more money to Republicans -- about $3 million to Republicans and just $385,486 to Democrats.</div>

<div>

</div>

<div>The OpenSecrets.org <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/totals.php?cycle=2012&ind=E1210">analysis of contributions by the industry</a> also shows that overall giving to candidates is on the rise. In the 2010 campaign cycle, individuals and PACs affiliated with the industry gave far more than ever before -- $8.1 million. That is more than double than the previous high-water mark in the 2002 cycle, when when individuals and PACs affiliated with the industry gave $3.7 million. And so far this cycle, with much of this year including the general election still to come, the industry has given $4.8 million, putting it on pace to possibly surpass last cycle. </div>

<div>

</div>

<div>Mine safety and the aftermath of Upper Big Branch is hardly the only major issue confronting the mining industry and causing them to spend money in Washington, to be fair: climate change and the role of coal-fired power plants in the nation's energy future are huge fights in Washington. Just yesterday, the <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?id=D000046880&year=2011">American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity</a> launched a major new <a target="_blank" href="http://www.politico.com/politicoinfluence/0412/politicoinfluence232.html">ad campaign</a> to push coal-fired plants back to prominence in the discussion over domestic power sources.</div>

</div>

===

desperate measures

<a href="http://grist.org/coal/u-s-coal-lobbies-frantically-to-save-its-doomed-ass-self/">http://grist.org/coal/u-s-coal-lobbies-frantically-to-save-its-doomed-ass-self/</a>

===

<h3>coal lobbying:</h3>

<a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/induscode.php?id=E1210&year=2011">http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/induscode.php?id=E1210&year=2011</a>

<table><tbody><tr class="rowTint"><td><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?id=D000031430&year=2011">Alpha Natural Resources</a></td><td>-</td><td class="number">$1,069,124</td></tr><tr><td><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?id=D000019258&year=2011">Arch Coal</a></td><td>-</td><td class="number">$1,470,000</td></tr><tr class="rowTint"><td><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?id=D000047810&year=2011">Bituminous Coal Operators Assn</a></td><td>-</td><td class="number">$376,683</td></tr><tr><td><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?id=D000032034&year=2011">Boich Companies</a></td><td>-</td><td class="number">$65,000</td></tr><tr class="rowTint"><td><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?id=D000048480&year=2011">Central Coal Company</a></td><td>-</td><td class="number">$66,000</td></tr><tr><td><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?id=F28255&year=2011">Cloud Peak Energy Resources</a></td><td>-</td><td class="number">$240,000</td></tr><tr class="rowTint"><td><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?id=D000049382&year=2011">Coal Operators & Assoc</a></td><td>-</td><td class="number">$80,000</td></tr><tr><td><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?id=D000049383&year=2011">Coal Utilization Research Council</a></td><td>-</td><td class="number">$120,000</td></tr><tr class="rowTint"><td><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?id=D000049384&year=2011">Coalbed Methane Assn of Alabama</a></td><td>-</td><td class="number">$40,000</td></tr><tr><td><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?id=D000025108&year=2011">CONSOL Energy</a></td><td>-</td><td class="number">$3,250,000</td></tr><tr class="rowTint"><td><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?id=D000049946&year=2011">Czar Coal Corp</a></td><td>-</td><td class="number">$40,000</td></tr><tr><td><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?id=D000050208&year=2011">DKRW Advanced Fuels</a></td><td>-</td><td class="number">$30,000</td></tr><tr class="rowTint"><td><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?id=D000025591&year=2011">Drummond Co</a></td><td>-</td><td class="number">$410,000</td></tr><tr><td><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?id=F110&year=2011">Great Northern Properties</a></td><td>-</td><td class="number">$120,000</td></tr><tr class="rowTint"><td><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?id=D000022123&year=2011">Murray Energy</a></td><td>-</td><td class="number">$540,000</td></tr><tr><td><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?id=F8412&year=2011">Murray Energy</a></td><td>-</td><td class="number">$500,000</td></tr><tr class="rowTint"><td><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?id=D000036079&year=2011">NACCO Industries</a></td><td>North American Coal Corp</td><td class="number">$210,000</td></tr><tr><td><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?id=D000054212&year=2011">National Council of Coal Lessors</a></td><td>-</td><td class="number">$35,000</td></tr><tr class="rowTint"><td><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?id=D000028242&year=2011">Patriot Coal Corp</a></td><td>-</td><td class="number">$2,280,000</td></tr><tr><td><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?id=D000020856&year=2011">Peabody Energy</a></td><td>-</td><td class="number">$1,974,300</td></tr><tr class="rowTint"><td><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?id=D000020856&year=2011">Peabody Energy</a></td><td>Peabody Investments</td><td class="number">$4,970,000</td></tr><tr><td><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?id=F11399&year=2011">San Juan Coal Co/BHP Navajo Co</a></td><td>-</td><td class="number">$54,000</td></tr><tr class="rowTint"><td><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?id=F16521&year=2011">US Coal Corporation</a></td><td>-</td><td class="number">$80,000</td></tr><tr><td><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?id=D000058544&year=2011">Western Coal Traffic League</a></td><td>-</td><td class="number">$30,000</td></tr><tr class="rowTint"><td><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?id=D000029833&year=2011">Westmoreland Coal Co</a></td><td>-</td><td class="number">$102,000</td></tr></tbody></table>

A 2011 analysis by Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, <a href="http://www.ctj.org/corporatetaxdodgers/CorporateTaxDodgersReport.pdf" class="external text" title="http://www.ctj.org/corporatetaxdodgers/CorporateTaxDodgersReport.pdf" rel="nofollow">"Corporate Taxpayers & Corporate Tax Dodgers: 2008-10"</a> found dozens of companies, including fossil fuels, used tax breaks and various tax dodging methods to have a negative tax balance between 2008 and 2010, while making billions in profits. The study found 32 companies in the fossil-fuel industry -- such as <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Peabody_Energy" title="Peabody Energy">Peabody Energy</a>, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=ConEd" title="ConEd" class="mw-redirect">ConEd</a>, and <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=PG%26E" title="PG&E">PG&E</a> -- transformed a tax responsibility of $17.3 billion on $49.4 billion in pretax profits into a tax benefit of $6.5 billion, for a net gain of $24 billion.

The companies that paid no tax for at least one year between 2008 and 2010 are the utilities <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Ameren" title="Ameren">Ameren</a>, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=American_Electric_Power" title="American Electric Power">American Electric Power</a>, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=CenterPoint_Energy&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="CenterPoint Energy (page does not exist)">CenterPoint Energy</a>, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=CMS_Energy" title="CMS Energy">CMS Energy</a>, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Consolidated_Edison" title="Consolidated Edison">Consolidated Edison</a>, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=DTE_Energy" title="DTE Energy">DTE Energy</a>, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Duke_Energy" title="Duke Energy">Duke Energy</a>, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Entergy" title="Entergy">Entergy</a>, FirstEnergy, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Integrys" title="Integrys">Integrys</a>, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=NextEra_Energy&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="NextEra Energy (page does not exist)">NextEra Energy</a>, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=NiSource" title="NiSource">NiSource</a>, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Pepco" title="Pepco" class="mw-redirect">Pepco</a>, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=PG%26E" title="PG&E">PG&E</a>, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=PPL" title="PPL">PPL</a>, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Progress_Energy" title="Progress Energy">Progress Energy</a>, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Sempra_Energy" title="Sempra Energy">Sempra Energy</a>, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Wisconsin_Energy" title="Wisconsin Energy">Wisconsin Energy</a> and <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Xcel_Energy" title="Xcel Energy">Xcel Energy</a>.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=FirstEnergy#cite_note-3" title="">[4]</a>

<h3><a href="http://">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/23/msha-coal-companies-warn-miners_n_1375127.html?view=print&comm_ref=false</a></h3>

<h1 class="title-news">MSHA: Coal Companies Are Illegally Warning Miners When Inspectors Arrive</h1>

<div class="comments_datetime relative v05">Posted: 03/23/2012 10:35 a</div>

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — The Mine Safety and Health Administration says coal companies are still illegally warning miners when federal inspectors arrive.

Director Joe Main says February impact inspections suggest current penalties aren't a sufficient deterrent.

MSHA announced Thursday it issued 235 citations and eight orders at U.S. coal mines in February, including 23 citations and three orders at Upper Cedar Grove No. 4 near Wharncliffe.

The Glen Alum Operations mine was closed after inspectors confirmed anonymous tips of problems. Violations included inadequate pre-shift inspections, inadequate or missing firefighting equipment, and accumulations of combustible material.

MSHA also issued 32 citations at Clintwood Elkhorn Mining Inc.'s Laurel Branch Surface Mine in Hurley, Va.

</div>

<h3>guardian mann attack:</h3>

On the eve of his talk at Penn State, a coal industry lobby group calling itself the Common Sense Movement/Secure Energy for America put up a <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2012/feb/03/penn-state-facebook-michael-mann" title="">Facebook page</a> demanding the university disinvite their own professor from speaking, and denouncing Mann as a "disgraced academic" pursuing a radical environmental agenda. The university refused. Common Sense appeared to have dismantled the Facebook page.

But Mann's attackers were merely regrouping. A hostile blogger published a link to Mann's Amazon page, and his opponents swung into action, denouncing the book as a "fairy tale" and <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/scienceofclimatechange" title="More from guardian.co.uk on Climate change">climate change</a> as "the greatest scam in human history".

<h3><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/feb/17/michael-mann-climate-war">http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/feb/17/michael-mann-climate-war</a></h3>

<a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/coal-powered-pac-runs-harassment-campaign-against-climate-scientist-michael-mann">http://www.desmogblog.com/coal-powered-pac-runs-harassment-campaign-against-climate-scientist-michael-mann</a>

<h3>Coal Contributions</h3>

In late October 2010, during the lead up to the Congressional midterm elections, The New York Times reported:

<dl>

<dd>

<dl>

<dd>Coal industry spending on campaigns and lobbying is substantial and growing, although it is dwarfed by the far better-financed oil and gas, electric utility, financial services and health care lobbies.</dd>

</dl>

</dd>

</dl>

<dl>

<dd>

<dl>

<dd>Among the largest recipients of coal money are Republican and Democratic members who have sponsored or voted for measures to block new E.P.A. regulations on climate cahnge pollution from the burning of coal and oil and who are most likely to support efforts to block other new rules.</dd>

</dl>

</dd>

</dl>

<dl>

<dd>

<dl>

<dd>These members include Representatives Roy Blunt of Missouri and <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Joe_Barton" title="Joe Barton">Joe L. Barton</a> of Texas, both Republicans, and <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Nick_Rahall" title="Nick Rahall">Nick J. Rahall II</a> of West Virginia and <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Rick_Boucher" title="Rick Boucher">Rick Boucher</a> of Virginia, both Democrats. Each had received more than $25,000 in contributions as of early October, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan group that tracks campaign spending.</dd>

</dl>

</dd>

</dl>

<dl>

<dd>

<dl>

<dd>Two Senate candidates, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Rob_Portman" title="Rob Portman" class="mw-redirect">Rob Portman</a>, Republican of Ohio, and Gov. <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Joe_Manchin" title="Joe Manchin">Joe Manchin</a>, Democrat of West Virginia, have also received sizable industry donations.</dd>

</dl>

</dd>

</dl>

<dl>

<dd>

<dl>

<dd>The political action committee of Representative <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=John_Boehner" title="John Boehner">John Boehner</a> of Ohio, who is in line to become speaker if Republicans capture the House, has received more than $300,000 from mining interests, most of it from coal companies. The industry is counting on Mr. Boehner to reverse the current Democratic leadership's refusal to allow a vote on the measure blocking E.P.A. carbon regulation.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Roy_Blunt#cite_note-4" title="">[5]</a></dd>

</dl>

</dd>

</dl>

---

Larry Craig lobbies for

Big legal decision:

Two exhaustive reports produced on Massey have put the blame squarely on a <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/19/massey-report_n_864267.html" target="_hplink">corporate culture</a> that put profits before workers' well-being. Investigators noted that the company routinely hid safety problems from inspectors and intimidated workers who spoke out about dangerous conditions. Managers went so far as to maintain two sets of safety books -- one that included documented dangers at the mine, and a separate sanitized version for inspectors to see. Alpha Natural Resources, Massey's new owner, has entered into a $210 million settlement over Massey's role in the disaster, though officials have left open the possibility of prosecuting individual Massey officers.

==

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency went too far when it began reviewing individual Clean Water Act permits on mountaintop mining operations, a federal judge ruled Thursday.

In Washington, U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton issued a partial summary judgment in a lawsuit filed by a coal mining industry coalition against the EPA and its administrator, Lisa Jackson.

The National Mining Association had challenged a 2009 decision in which the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers agreed to coordinate reviews of backlogged permit applications for waste disposal at Appalachia mountaintop mining operations that raise serious environmental concerns.

Walton ruled the EPA's 2009 process exceeded its statutory authority under the Clean Water Act. The process is limited to 29 permit applications in Kentucky and West Virginia.

U.S. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., praised the decision as a step re-establishing the Army Corps of Engineers' role as the primary permitting authority.

"This is a significant step in our efforts to rein in the EPA, which remains intent on rewarding a core constituency that doesn't want any coal mining, no matter the cost to West Virginia or our nation," the lawmaker added.

Last year, aides for then-Gov. Joe Manchin filed a similar lawsuit targeting EPA policies adopted since President Barack Obama took office that are designed to limit the practice of burying streams under excess rock removed while extracting coal at mines.

<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/07/mountaintop-mining-permit-epa_n_999877.html?ir=Green">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/07/mountaintop-mining-permit-epa_n_999877.html?ir=Green</a>

=

<a href="http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/Global/usa/planet3/PDFs/Coal/PollutingDemocracy.web.pdf">http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/Global/usa/planet3/PDFs/Coal/PollutingDemocracy.web.pdf</a>

greenpeace study on pol contrib:

Representative Jason Altmire (D-PA)

6 Representative Michele Bachmann (R-MN)

7 Representative Eric Cantor (R-VA)

8 Representative Jerry Costello (D-IL)

9 Representative Mark Critz (D-PA)

10 Representative Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO)

11 Representative Doc Hastings (R-WA)

12 Representative Bill Johnson (R-OH)

13 Representative Jim Matheson (D-UT)

14 Representative Tim Murphy (R-PA)

15 Representative Steve Pearce (R-NM)

16 Representative Mike Rogers (R-MI)

17 Representative Patrick Tiberi (R-OH)

18 Representative Fred Upton (R-MI)

19 Representative Ed Whitfield (R-KY)

==

big banks pull funding or make contingent massey get cut

<a href="http://www.grist.org/coal/2011-06-28-the-good-news-about-coal">http://www.grist.org/coal/2011-06-28-the-good-news-about-coal</a>  5/11

nyer

Lieberman knew that the issue was almost as much regional as ideological. When he went to lobby Evan Bayh, of Indiana, Bayh held up a map of the United States showing, in varying shades of red, the percentage of electricity that each state derived from burning coal, the main source of greenhouse-gas emissions in the United States. The more coal used, the redder the state and the more it would be affected by a cap on carbon. The Northeast, the West Coast, and the upper Northwest of the country were pale. But the broad middle of the country—Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois—was crimson. (Indiana, for example, derives ninety-four per cent of its electricity from coal). “Every time Senator Lieberman would open his mouth, Bayh would show him the map,” a Lieberman aide said.

----

<h2>27 Coal-Mining States</h2>

Coal Areas of the United States and Table of Production By State</div>

<table border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><th>State

</th><th>Tons

(billions)</th><th>Percent

of U.S.</th></tr><tr align="right"><td align="left">Montana</td><td>120</td><td>25.4</td></tr><tr align="right"><td align="left">Illinois</td><td>78</td><td>16.5</td></tr><tr align="right"><td align="left">Wyoming</td><td>68</td><td>14.4</td></tr><tr align="right"><td align="left">West Virginia</td><td>37</td><td>8.0</td></tr><tr align="right"><td align="left">Kentucky</td><td>30</td><td>6.3</td></tr><tr align="right"><td align="left">Pennsylvania</td><td>29</td><td>6.1</td></tr><tr align="right"><td align="left">Ohio</td><td>19</td><td>4.0</td></tr><tr align="right"><td align="left">Colorado</td><td>17</td><td>3.6</td></tr><tr align="right"><td align="left">Texas</td><td>13</td><td>2.7</td></tr><tr align="right"><td align="left">Indiana</td><td>10</td><td>2.1</td></tr><tr align="right"><td align="left">Other States</td><td>51</td><td>10.9</td></tr><tr align="right"><td align="left">TOTAL</td><td>472</td><td>100.0</td></tr></tbody></table>

</td></tr></tbody></table>

===

<table><tbody><tr><th width="125">Country</th><th>2008 Coal Power Prod.</th><th> % of World Total</th></tr><tr><th align="left"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=China_and_coal" title="China and coal">China</a></th><td align="right">2,733,000 GWh</td><td align="right">33.1%</td></tr><tr><th align="left">U.S.A.</th><td align="right">2,133,000 GWh</td><td align="right">25.8%</td></tr><tr><th align="left"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=India_and_coal" title="India and coal">India</a></th><td align="right">569,000 GWh</td><td align="right">6.9%</td></tr><tr><th align="left"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Germany_and_coal" title="Germany and coal">Germany</a></th><td align="right">291,000 GWh</td><td align="right">3.5%</td></tr><tr><th align="left"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Japan_and_coal" title="Japan and coal">Japan</a></th><td align="right">288,000 GWh</td><td align="right">3.5%</td></tr><tr><th align="left"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=South_Africa_and_coal" title="South Africa and coal">South Africa</a></th><td align="right">241,000 GWh</td><td align="right">2.9%</td></tr><tr><th align="left"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Australia_and_coal" title="Australia and coal">Australia</a></th><td align="right">198,000 GWh</td><td align="right">2.4%</td></tr><tr><th align="left"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Russia_and_coal" title="Russia and coal">Russia</a></th><td align="right">197,000 GWh</td><td align="right">2.4%</td></tr><tr><th align="left"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=South_Korea_and_coal" title="South Korea and coal">Korea</a></th><td align="right">192,000 GWh</td><td align="right">2.3%</td></tr><tr><th align="left"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Poland_and_coal" title="Poland and coal">Poland</a></th><td align="right">143,000 GWh</td><td align="right">1.7%</td></tr><tr><th align="left">All Other Countries</th><td align="right">1,278,000 GWh</td><td align="right">15.6%</td></tr><tr><th align="left">World Total</th><td align="right">8,263,000 GWh</td><td align="right">100%</td></tr></tbody></table>

===

james schlesinger, carter energy sec, on board of peabody coal rep war on sci p 84 (cia dir)

<a href="http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/04/06/25-confirmed-dead-in-massey-mine-explosion/">http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/04/06/25-confirmed-dead-in-massey-mine-explosion/</a>

Overnight, the explosion at the Massey Energy mine in Raleigh County, West Virginia has gone from <a href="http://workinprogress.firedoglake.com/2010/04/05/west-virginia-mine-explosion-6-dead-21-missing/">six dead</a> to <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100406/ap_on_bi_ge/us_mine_explosion">25 dead</a>, making it the worst mining disaster in over two decades. With only 200 employees, one out of every eight working at the site died in the explosion. And more are feared dead.

A huge underground explosion blamed on methane gas killed 25 coal miners in the worst U.S. mining disaster in more than two decades. Four others were missing Tuesday, their chances of survival dimming as rescuers were held back by poison gases that accumulated near the blast site, about 1.5 miles into the complex.

Rescuers prepared to drill three shafts going down over 1,000 feet each to release methane and carbon monoxide that chased them from the mine after the blast Monday afternoon, Gov. Joe Manchin said.

The explosion rocked Massey Energy Co.’s sprawling Upper Big Branch mine, about 30 miles south of Charleston, which has a history of violations for not properly ventilating the highly combustible methane, safety officials said.

</div>

</blockquote>

Yes, a history of violations. Federal regulators at the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) fined Massey Energy over $382,000 in the last year alone for violations at Upper Big Branch, including the very ventilation plan that caused this terrible accident. A look at the <a href="http://www.msha.gov/drs/ASP/MineAction.asp">MSHA violation site</a> for Upper Big Branch shows that the most recent violation was cited yesterday – yes, yesterday – and have been assessed on an almost weekly basis. Clearly the company saw the fines as part of the cost of doing business. There have been three fatalities at the mine in the past twelve years, but never anything like this.

Massey Energy’s CEO Don Blankenship has a clear record of valuing profit <a href="http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2010/04/05/massey-coal-disaster/">over safety</a>:

This tragedy is the latest deadly disaster to involve coal baron Don Blankenship’s Massey Energy. In 2006, two miners died in a fire at Aracoma Mine after Blankenship <a href="http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2008/11/24/blankenship-bin-laden/">personally waived company policy</a> and told mine managers to ignore rules and “run coal.”

</div>

</blockquote>

Blankenship’s name also may be familiar to judicial watchers; he was involved in a case of <a href="http://www.wvablue.com/diary/1554/">buying a judge on the state Supreme Court</a> to overturn a $50 million dollar ruling against his mining operation. He was seen <a href="http://www.grist.org/article/massey-watch/">vacationing with a Supreme Court judge</a> in Monte Carlo before the ruling came out.

---

Bush's electoral success, moreover, was heavily funded by big coal and oil. His 2000 presidential win can in large measure be traced to his victory in West Virginia, a state no other Republican presidential candidate had ever won. That win resulted from the substantial support of the state's coal industry. One coal executive alone, James Harless, raised $275,000 for the Bush campaign in West Virginia, five times more than Al Gore raised there.

Five months after Bush's inauguration, a West Virginia Coal Association official told a meeting of the organization: "You did everything you could to elect a Republican president. Now you are already seeing in his actions the payback ... for what we did."

That "payback" came in the form of an about-face on a campaign promise Candidate Bush made in 1999 -- to repeat nationally what he had done as governor of Texas, imposing a carbon dioxide emissions cap on the state's coal-fired power plants. In a letter to four Republican senators, Bush said he was backing away from the cap because of the "incomplete state of scientific knowledge of the causes of, and solutions to, global climate change and the lack of commercially available technologies for removing and storing carbon dioxide."

Particularly pleased by Bush's flip-flop was Irl Englehardt, chair of the Peabody Group, the country's biggest coal company. Englehardt had donated $250,000 to the Republican National Committee, and served as an adviser to the Bush-Cheney Energy Transition Team. On May 17, 2001, when the Cheney task force unveiled its new energy plan, it not only called for an expanded role for nuclear power and the opening of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil exploration, but for the construction of between 1,300 and 1,900 new power plants, most of them powered by coal. Within a week of the plan's unveiling, the Peabody Group -- a privately held entity for its entire 120-year life -- made an initial public offering (IPO) of shares and went public. Overnight, its stock jumped from $24 to $36.

Pooley

USCAP   Eileen Claussen, epa dept state --> pew 140 (jim rogers duke energy  co author)

PG&E

Duke Rogers: #3 emitter co2 b/c make 70% of elect at 20 coal plants; ofall co in world, #12; if duke a country, #41  p 142

duke held swing vote in susacap?  144b

ken lay hired rogers ur enron to run pipleline then to set up set up nat gas trading that led to electric  trading that skilling turned into scam 147

acid rain pgm gave rogers way to make $ tho his co small, hvy in debt and dirty 148; Rail dereg brought windfall of cheap cleaner coal , so cd wait for cheaper scrubbers

Traitors ch 17

Fred palmer peabody Greening earth Soc, burn FF was "doing the work of the Lord" 153

Don Blank: greens = commie, want lower st'd of living

war of perception, only 1 side cd win

ex duke ceo anderson was for carbon tax (not cap?) as was exxon) which is what they say they are for when they know it can't pass) 155  // to feelgood senate vote?

nrdc hawkins and edf thomspn eliz

uscap logjam broke by immelt and facilit John Ehrman of meridian

jim owens of catepillar got grief from coal customers, as did Lehman bros, who pulled out

[[John R. Ehrmann, Ph.D.

Dr. Ehrmann is a founder and Senior Partner of the Meridian Institute.

Dr. Ehrmann is one of the most highly skilled and sought after facilitators in the field. He has pioneered the use of collaborative processes for two decades, using it for everything from conflict resolution to creative processes like organizational planning for the future. He has led projects in national and international forums; in public policy arenas involving legislation, negotiated regulations and Federal Advisory Committees; in organizational management settings; and with stakeholder groups advising individual companies. For the most part, his work has focused on the environment, natural resources issues, and the economic and social challenges associated with developing sustainable practices for communities and industries.

In addition to his extensive involvement in facilitating collaborative processes, Dr. Ehrmann also works to promote the use of collaborative decision-making. He gives lectures and has published numerous articles on collaborative decisions in public policy issues. He also serves as an adjunct faculty member for the University of Wyoming and provides advice to the Institute and School of Environment and Natural Resources on the use of collaborative problem solving in natural resource decision-making.

Dr. Ehrmann received his undergraduate degree from Macalester College and his Ph.D. in Natural Resource Policy and Environmental Dispute Resolution from the University of Michigan, School of Natural Resources. His doctoral dissertation involved developing a practice-based model of the policy dialogue, which can be applied to both practice and research. Between 1983 and 1997, Dr. Ehrmann was executive vice president at the Keystone Center, Keystone, Colorado. In September 1997 he left Keystone to found the Meridian Institute.  ]]

http://www.merid.org/showproject.php?ProjectID=9040.6

2/07 boxer had uscap ceos testify; warner VA intersted, which sent chill thru K st and hill 164. warner cd have taken inhofe spot as minority after boxer took over, but took spot on lieberman GW subcom to link up 165

Green gp unanimous on cap 166, freaked out reid and Durban

EDF brokered deal with TXU that 86'd coal plants 166, helped pass ab 32

sup ct ruled 9=0 against duke , same day EPA co2 ruling

inhofe called uscap failed biz looking for gov't help 168  //CEI that it was wealth transfer

murray called uscap unamerican, did not buy coal bounceback after ccs; owens at catepill saw w/ duke guy that coal longetm loser w/o ccs

pt 6 Disaster training --

2007 ACCCE, said not contras all , rebrand CEED, which rogers had pulled out of

CEED ACCCE abd green earth same ppl, office 182

byrd got $ r&D scrubbers, then co2 became issue. 92 CEED started by Snow (CSX and B2 treas sec). 2.8 m$, Miller asst' to hazel oleary in clinton admin. 2000 miller and lucas astroturf ABEC, Hired hawthorne Gp witgh big dB 183

super tues said coal an issue for sure (MCC, clinton, obama

Ind 94% electr from coal, ohio 85, Missouri 82

22 on Boxer politics: she could not let Arnold get to her left, plus torn betw pleasing gren in CA and trying to get sen votes

coal plants nat'l pol after oil shock of 70's 191

pop and edf differed on strategy: build in 2008 vs wait for obama.  climate is more geology thasn ideolgy

Lib-Warner attacked by denierns and greens 195

only 38 women in senate ever, and boxer not popular 198

ch23 chamber

chls river report on CA http://reason.org/news/show/red-ink-green-jobs  ucla says thier models crap

CoC and NAM used same tactics as BTU

Mo event VA landrith (defeated gop) used discredited CRA rept on job, and used Morano's slides (Frontiers of Freedon, exxon $ 205

24  keohanne at EDF did meta econ analyis found that cap and trade would slow down economy by 3 mos in 2030 208

edf's goldmakrkl said they bs us for 10 years on sci, now trying to do the same on cost and we don't have 10 yrs to waste

25 boxer verion of warner-lieb; glover pk for; conra 770 orgs sent 2340 lobbyists (ctr for public integr) 4:1  duke alone almost 3 mil $

here kitty stratrgy did not work; uscap useless with rogers dragging feet 226

26 Club for Growth targets sens (liddy dole)  may 2008

WSJ called bill unprededented growth of fed pwr, and beck said largest tax pgm ever 229

stuck b/c mod dems thot too tough and enviros not tough enough

GOP stipulated bill must not cost anything. gop memeo said scoring pts more imp that affecting policy; McC had amendment ready that if it raised gas proces at all, ended 230 (// prop 23?)

Dole voted yes, out of office 5 mos later

Max Baucus caved? (targets by Rome ads, as was Rockefeller

McCon demanded bill be read, opening for reid to pull and blemwegop, but did not; then lost key dems

elder statesman needed (McCain maybe? or baucus, b/c  politics murkey, so ppl gunshy

for record 48, but really only 39 (9 of gang of 10 manureverd?

28  fred said envir will stop being an interst and be the fierld we all play on; so will climate; we need to transform everything.

climate bill seemed to be same old transactional pol when we needed transformational

Repower America --

Gore triple crisis: borrowing $ from china to senf to saudis to ruin the climate

spr 89 Hnasens's testimony to Gore comm rewritten by B2 OMB 251 (not man). gore asjed if he could out omb, yes, then reporters at house so went quiet for years 252

rogers showed up an hansen talk, H sent ltr? sating don't go tobacco road

ccs basically bolting a factory on pwr plant that uses 1/4 power 266

hansen said ceos crimes against humantiy and nature 271

activists gettimg more blowback, less results with each action

32  obama team invited rogers, other ceos and experts incl yeargin

ACCCE buried demo conv in swag 1.7m$

Save the planet? Save the economy! --

33  Endeqvor boat rip with Dascle and VJ (got to talk to pelosi 286, endorsed by T friedman

krup says stalemate = loss

sept Breakthrough Inst published gren buble burst in LA times

35 chevron spent less than 5% on green

coal PR doing great: 70% fuel of future (up from 45%) and 70% wanted climate action but only 10% see coal as involved 301  citizen army 175K (hawthorn and bonner and assoc; 30K calls to 12 sen; goal is 250K in 09

Palmer at Peabody in venture in china to do ccs

Obama trans strategy; stimulus w/ green, energy bill w/ fuel stds, then CC; endored cap and trade 310

Summers and Brwoner disagreed on timing, but summers wanted to move to lower uncertainty .

Dingell detroit said cc a glorous mess

obama admin picked waxman aid as pipeline 329 pelosi abcked his chairof energy & commerse bid too, beat dingell (doyle steel)

Waxman reached out to Boucher

The path --

Big Oil sits out talks, so coal goes in for goodies 347

Browner and energy cab pushing, pol side dragging feet . Broener wanted fast track to get bill before Cop15, but McConnell slammed door shut 349 (89-9 that climate bill can't raise gas prices.

EPA threat had got some ceo's on board, but congress decided to let it take the heat and corps thought lawyers could tie it up for years 350

41  EDF mapped green jobs on google map lesscarbonmorejobs.org

Bogus spanish jobs study by libertairian think tank (writer had ties to exxon) not countered by obama

Rush attacked waxman and markey, saw they will limit freedom 362, enslave you

skeptic united, supporters divided, including whther to support W-M

Gore alliance big push

gop said allowance dirty pork.

edf said cost a dime a day, gop said 3100 (author of report they cited told them to stop muisusing it 365

Barton to enforce GOP discipline; waxman needed boucher, doyle, dingell, green and gonzales, mary bono black CA R 366

Lomborg against w-M

Hansen opposed, picked up by Morano's Climate Depot

waxmanm rogers, boucher and tyndall in last minute haggling 371  krupp and boucher.  boucher got lifeline for coal, which PO green who wanted to phase it out (ACCCE talking to boucher too) 376  600 existing coal per plants grandfathered ; EPA can not use CAA.

ACCCE can only move as fast as slowest memebers 377

WRI ran numbers and found it beter than expected/targets 378

W-M was compromise between wings of demos, centrist, but gop will not join no matter what 380

Boener could be so weak he could not swing his own ppl, so only option is kneejerk oppostion to anything obama does 381  only Bono mack crossed? (backchannel talks)

43  summers made big speech at uscap,but sided w/ Rahm and axelrof to let waxman run interference for obama 374

44 sierra club maggie Fox takes over Alliance  from Zoi, married to Colo Mark Udall, connected

pretty much any bill/cap will tip paragigm shift 384

subprime collapse left ppl hating any mkt, incl cap and trade 384

Inhafe staff sent memo to gop on waxman comm: big new tax, but also dem siding w/ big biz 386, lose jobs, giveaway to polluters; gop protect consumers

envro socialism (ky) gop alternative gave way to oil w/ no cap. since they cd not  (doyle stood up against one for steel jobs) designed to be basis for attack ad in next election 389 cd not beat it, kept adding gotcha amendmants that wd disable it 387

Rangell started messing w/ done deal, Waxman needed Pelosi to reign him in, but she was busy dealing with corn lobby/ethanol

bono black only gop committee to vote yes

1st big US GW study since 2000 (squashed by B2) permanent bust bowl, but boxer and kerry, not obama pushed 392

Rose garden sppech swamped by MN Jackson death

Rush says GW all about tax, redistrb waelth, cited spanish study 396, also heritage that will cost $71K 2012-35 396

Beck attacks W-M 397

25% of w-m/ house votes came from CA and NY says rogers (only 4% of senate) 400  25% of w-m/ house votes came from CA and NY sats rogers 400 pooley

Perriello found forged ltr, than other bogus from Bonner, hawthorn

miller and lucas about to deploy Power Army when bad press made them stop (idea was swarm town hall mtgs like with health care; cklimed 200K members

defections; duke from ACCCE, 3 uscap utilities pulled out of US chamber: exelon, pg&e and PNM; USC called for skopes trial on GW

API 1998 action plan victory when doubt est'b sent memo to members aug 09 to send "energy Citizen" rallies, 20. told gas 4$/fal, 40% opposed wnr to 63% 411  # came from herittage, piad for by exxon (biggesdt member of api)

Beck uses kerpen, phil to go after VJ (afp) 411 a commie, and obama a racist. VJ heartnened right that they could win by bs bullying 413

---

Phil Kerpen is policy director for the Free Enterprise Fund.

A biographical note states he is also the "publisher of Cross-X.com, the leading web site for high school policy debaters." He has previously worked as a policy analyst for the Club for Growth, the Woodhill Foundation and the Cato Institute. [1]

Kerpen is quoted frequently in a variety of publications.

External links

* "Phil Kerpen", Free Enterprise Fund, undated, accessed July 2005.

---

McCain get challenged from right, by radio, so caves; krepp talks to hi,, Mcc blames obama.

boxer hired edf atty goffman who'd gotten acid rain done

left got a GW war room 419

Copenhagen, December 2009.

194 countries

GOp delegation (4 0f 60 denied GW) Barton, MI Upton, Inhofe said GW started w/ UN and spreak to Holywood elite 428

Lomborg

climategate 425  Phil jones hounded by foia req by Stephen McIntyre

himalaya error in IPCC was transposed digits and had already been corrected by sci 427 glaciers shrinking 2x as decade before.

china not bound to mandatory targets, but obmama needed something to placate US. obama delayed depatying and crashed mtg w/ china, brazil, s africa and india 430. china caved and said would make some info avaiable. w/o obama no deal at all

scot brown won ted's seat and citizen united terified dems 432

lisa murkowski fought epa on co2 433

krupp talks to luntz and to murdoch Jr

kerry, lieberman and graham (Tripartite) also 3 prt approach: cap like sulpur, carbon fee to oil co, phase in cap for steel and other energy intensive industires 438

norway, dem, sweden 1st to do carbon tax, now leaders wind, ccs and biomass 439

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The climate war : true believers, power brokers, and the fight to save the earth

Author: Eric Pooley

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rfk2

Ch 6  blueprint for plunder

energy co 48.3m to b2 and gop 2000, 58m since inaug 96  31 of 48 trans team energy ties; cab and staff 4 cab sec, 6 powerful WH and 20 high level apptees

rove owned 250K enron stock early 2001 while energy pol made; also BP, amoco, royal dutch shell  97 but involved in all decisons (scooter sold a bunch early

2001 dept comm ceo of cabot chem; undersec chief econ for exxon

secret taks force; Nat Energy Pol Dev gp right after inaug 97  but Fed Advisory Comm Act says any mtgs of pvt and public be disclosed, so official members

all gov as end-run 98  DC #2 spenser abrams (2000 failed relect sen after one term MI 700K from car industry) killed fuel effic; Joe Allbaugh dir F Energy

Reg Comiss (tx "iron triangle) wife lobby for reliant, entergy and txu); also Don evans tx, norton (1/3 sen camp energy co's), amd Paul O'Neill SIC vowed to

sell alcoa stock but stalled till after rep out, stock went up 30%  99 thot he cd have good impact, but relaized not goal 101

may 17 01 rep released --> energy bill ; exxon record profits, 2x prev yr 99

for 1st x, GAO sued for info, redently appt judge denied, no appeal , but Sierra C and Jud watch won. scotus delayed till after election; scalia had gone to

oil co duck hunt junket refused to recuse, tho msny demands 100 docs heavy redeacted, and nothing from CD mtgs 100

task force got input from API, Am Gas assoc, nat mining assoc and edison 101 400 co's combined in Alliance for Energy and ec growth to lobby.

B2 campaigh workers became lobbyists; mtgs w/ task force; am gas at least 8 480 K cantrib 1999-02 etc, api, exelon, westinghouse, enron 10x, 6 w DC (who

refused to cap CA energy prices) 103  RELIANT engineered CA scam 103  Westar exec email said $ to delay PAC was proce for "seat at table" of the task force

103. DC says just b/c somoen gave $ to camp does not mean shd not have "express views " to gov 103

suskind bk says DC orchestrated idea of energy crisis, permitted no discuss and said pres wd not read anyone's reports 104 day before rep released, foto op

w/ green energy

chevron big input, api lang on exec order verbatim 104-5

19 mtgs/contacts w/ nuke ind over 1/2 mil contrib

So Co 1.6 m 99-02 met 7x, hired haley barbour and current rnc Marc Racicot SIC to lobby esp on co2, NSR rule key, req gpa plants to intall control when

upgrade or expand 106  prosecuted by BC (8 of 51); dpet Just forced to drop suits EPA cheif enforcement officer quit 106 "if yo have a good lobbyist, you can

just buy your way out of trouble" 106  joined by edison's Tom Kuhn, b pioneer college roomate edison 600k to gop 99-02 and its mmbers almost 20 mil since 98

106

rep rec'd exempt old power plants from CAA; barbour raisedf 250K at may 21 gala, 150k from So co.107

Haliburton gave 1 mil gop 97-02, and all soft money 1/2 mil to gop ; incentive to polute added to rep.bill, tho O'N says does not cost more to do right.

conservation a private virtue, noy basis of pub;lic poliocy DC TO speech mo before rep released 107  but 1 mpg increase = ANWR  2.6 = iraq and kuwait import,

8 all of ME 108  JC cafge up 7.5, shorage --> glut 108, 86 rolled by RR; lovens says if not, we need no persian gulf oil after 86; no need for wars; since

1990 80 mil car $ , cancelled tax decd for gren cars, less effic st'ds 100K tax break hummers etc. result worst effic in 20 yrs 109  tax cuts to offset

energy prices [basically another subsidy !?]  bill ~ Daschle but end-run, by june 02 3/4 of 105 recs in place

oct 01 weakend regs on mining and air pollut

power plants kill a Trillion fish/yr 111

took pwer from states to limit offshore drill, b2 resfued to suppoert Superfund (hid as reform) but 1:4 Us ppl live near one 112  10c bbl cheap b/c excluded

from liability under cost recovery 112 normally epa can clean site then charge 3x to poluter, so big leverage ; w/o tax, no cleanup; oct 03 fund went

bankrupt, so cost shifted to public.

ch 7 king coal

mtntop 400k acres wasteland biorich temp forests; cutrrent rate 1 mil more in a decade (size of delaware) 115 2,500 tons explisive in WV per day! 115

strip mine started in west in 40's to get shallow coal, but used in Appal to get dep, reduce workers, bust unions (120K wVa to 15 ) 116

coal mine and pwer plants 20mil$ 2000 and another 21 since. unprec acces to task force; peabody execs on trans team ; bill has $2b for r&d, 5 days later IPO

got 60M more than predicted. wanted to build biggest pwr plant upwind of mamoth cave unesco site and biosphere res; 450K to gop in 3 mos, w Griles ok'd; pol

appt w/ no sci bkgd overtuned air study.

top lobby Quin Shea declared kyoto dead 119 undo all epa ability to reg co2 in months

1972 buff ck coal slurry dam collapse lilled 120 ppl. 2000 Massey 300 m gallon, biggest disaster in East US; 60 posions, 100 mi of river ; of 650, 1/2

dangerous ; 122 study thwarted by admin: chao her9tage, hubby got 100K from masey. chao appt coal exec to head MSHA (#2 amax mine, dep ast amax and peabody.

sludge study boss fired on inaug day ; 8 crim cts -->2 weakest, one tossed by admin jusge so 5600$ fine for billions in damage 123. 8 member team peress ti

sign off, one w/ wife w cancer, Spadaro invstigator lured to DC for mtg, his office searched (frames pix of family) changed locks"Gestope'd me" 123  OSC

invest whtleblower; demotred and reassigned

Jeff Holmstead EPA office of air and radiation, then pal got gig at Baker and Hostetler, So Co lobby 124 after gpa, hold #2 took job at Bracewell and

Paterson, houston co lobby for So co on NSR .  Sen Edwards called for holm resig supress sci and lying 125. Oct 03 GAO rep said he's lied that elim NSR wd

not affect ongpoing invest and proec of corps that broke rules incl So co. but he had talked to epa about it (3 quit)

Mike Leavitt of Ut repl CTW, 1st act weaken merc rgs fom coal (40% or airborne merc) most cd be elim for 1% of plant rev.  lev and Holm scrapped BC reforms;

much reform" came from Latham and Watkins law firm (holm fmr co)  128

1/04 conf folowed gop fundraiser at Az Biltomore; solicited changes to ESA, Nat Env Pol Act, CAA, access to publ land, tort reform organized by coal lobby/DC

task force spkesman Jim Sims 129 connaught and griles there

GRILES 1970-81 pernitted Va; Buff Ck --> SMCRA, ~, lost 9-0 scotus, but watt appt him to Office of Surface Mining he's reportdly vowed to "turn out the

lights"  130 cut staff 1/3, morale down " we tore the agency to hell" Wa Post 130  Dept int RR in 85, got rec'd for oil and gas leases offshore  82K acres for

2.50 ea (17k acres sold for 42.5K then flipped for 37 m 131.  trtied to open ANWR CA and Fla coast, hid risks. 89-95 sr vp United Coal ,supervised one of

biggest mtntop, 95 formed lobby shop for 40 co's, merged with Nat Env Strats (barbour) : NMAssoc, Dominon, EEI, shell, texcaco arch coal etc etc 131  2001

sold client list to NES partner Himmelstein for 1.1 mil in 4 payments so in essence on payroll (dept of Int refused req for info ;sen made him agree not to

meet w/ former clients, but met chevron while appt pending (paid 46mil not to drill off fla coast ?! (helped jeb?) Griles press Fisher at epa to overrule

pipeline study, coal-bed mehane, met w/ nat'l mining assic to lax mtntop; himmel gave party w/ griles and bunch of b of int ppl who reg mining 134 , liberman

demanded ehtic invest: dept of int Insp Genl said he "did not take ethics seriously" "train wreak waiting to happen" ; he paid $180.  to himmel for dinner.

changed stories several times on shell and chevron; rep went to Norton, who closed case.

Griles at  least 30 WH mtgs, B2 2 w/ rove; met w/ indistry 37x on Clear Skies, New Src Rev and CAA rollback, tho Int has no jurisdiction 136 (but he had

lobbied on air for 13 co's)

Since 1975 "fill" meant no waste, but Army corps allowed mtntop even tho no authpority to 137  Griles pused EPA on this, tho violates CWA (intent, nit

explicit).  Chf Judge Haden tossed, but rw 4th curcuit upheld change. Griles rewrote EIS, 8 mil $ worth of studiesd relgated to appendix; 80K ppl weighed

in,but one day after comment period closed, stream buffer rule changed

ch 8

dascle held energy bill 18 mos till gop got both huses in 1/2003  Delay and energy comm chair Billy Tauzin passed, but know it cd not pass, so bait

andswitched: passed dem bill then rewrote it w/o dems 145, just energy lobby ;released the bill Sat night, 3 dfays to review 1200 pages 147 damge env and add

to deby (100B tax breaks McC: no lobbyist left behind"  for Hootrers and Poluters. Halib tax brak to frack ; worst bill for envir in 25 yrs (back to newt Reg

reform" More for oil, more ghg. ethaol subsid peeled off demos, incl daschle and harkin; DC and lobbists worked hard; even WSJ deplored pork for votes 149

House passed Domenici onmibus? bill [same as energy bill?], but sen filibuster. WSJ "cornucopia of special interst payoffs" 151 some gop sununu held out, big

deby and MTBE outrage (delay, tauzin and barton)"Major Threat to Beter Earnings' etc  shell jokes; used b/c lobby tho more $ than ethanol 155 cost to clean

cd be 29-46 b, co try to dodge .

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COAL

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