coal

National efforts to cut GHG emissions will suffer

Everyone is justifiably excited about the good news out of California, but a much more representative microcosm of the climate debate can be found in the great state of Texas.

Texas leads the nation in GHG emissions -- it spews more than Canada or the U.K. It has no plan for reducing those emissions. It has rejected legislative efforts to reduce them for years. In essence, Governor Rick Perry has said that he won't do anything until the feds do, which we all know is never.

Now it seems Texas is set to dramatically increase its emissions.

The state may soon approve the construction of 16 old-school coal-fired power plants:

The approval of 16 new power plants that burn coal, by far the most carbon-intensive fuel for making electricity, would add an estimated 117 million tons of carbon dioxide a year, more than the individual emissions from 33 other states and 177 countries.

The power companies say cleaner-burning coal technologies aren't "proven." The business lobby and the governor's office say curbs on GHG gases would hurt the economy.

How “merchant coal” is changing the face of America

 From his rolling green soybean fields above a slow river in eastern Iowa, Don Shatzer looks out over the farm where he was raised, across land he and his neighbors have farmed all their lives. Below him are the garden beds where his wife Linda grows organic vegetables to safeguard the family’s health, and the […]

In coal country, mining is destroying cemeteries and faith

James Bowe, a lifelong resident of Whitesville, W.Va., knows the mountains around his home better than he knows himself. He’s seen friends and family buried there, and has devoted countless hours to protecting his loved ones’ resting places and the Indian burial grounds that stand alongside them. So when Bowe pulled up on his four-wheeler […]

In Goodell Company, unabridged

In 2001, around the time Dick Cheney's secret-recipe energy plan made its debut, Jeff Goodell was in West Virginia reporting on coal's rising fortunes. He'd been sent to do a story for The New York Times Magazine, but the material spilled over into a new book, Big Coal: The Dirty Secret Behind America's Energy Future. It's a journey from the mines of Wyoming, across the plains by rail car, into the belly of the turbines in the east, and all the way to China, following the tale of the black rock that still, after all these years, afflicts and enables us.

As the fossil fuel that isn't running out, coal's been rebranded as a means to achieve energy independence. With the assistance of a friendly administration in the U.S. and burgeoning demand from China and India, the industry looks set to build hundreds of coal-fired power plants in coming years. And despite the gasification/sequestration PR, the momentum is strongly behind old-school plants that laden the air with particulates and the atmosphere with greenhouse gases.

Goodell recently visited Grist HQ for a leisurely chat about coal's past, present, and unsettling future. Here follows a full transcript; for the abridged version, go here.

An interview with Jeff Goodell, author of Big Coal

In 2001, around the time Dick Cheney’s secret-recipe energy plan made its debut, Jeff Goodell went to West Virginia to report on coal’s rising fortunes. He’d been sent to do a story for The New York Times Magazine, but the material spilled over into a book, Big Coal: The Dirty Secret Behind America’s Energy Future, […]

Importing coal

Here's a story you don't hear about much:

Goodell on coal gasification

My officemates are furiously packing, washing, dusting, and hauling in preparation for the Big Grist Move (you could help out by sending a few dollars our way!). I fled the scene to come home, using the excuse that somebody has to keep the blog going. So I guess I better blog about something ...

On Wednesday, I had a long, fascinating conversation with Jeff Goodell, author of Big Coal. I hope we can get it up in a week or so. In the meantime, check out the great op-ed Goodell just wrote for the NYT, which echoes many of the things we discussed. It's mainly about the big push behind coal-to-liquid plants.

About sequestration:

Interview with Jeff Goodell, author of Big Coal

I'm not sure what I expected when I picked up Jeff Goodell's Big Coal, but I was pleasantly surprised. It is neither a number-and-graph-filled wonkfest nor a provincial, narrow examination of a particular set of companies. Instead, it's an engagingly written narrative that travels through every stage of coal -- from extraction through travel through burning -- and ends with a broad examination of the consequences for the climate. I really can't recommend it highly enough. It's a book even your grandma could enjoy. I hope to post some more on it soon.

But for now: I'm meeting with Goodell on Wednesday for a nice long chat. What should I ask him?

A new reliance on coal could sap green cred from the ethanol industry

As ethanol boosterism spreads far and wide — from Bush’s bully pulpit to the New York Times to green-group press releases — a quietly emerging trend is threatening to undermine the biofuel’s environmental credibility. editorial page How green is this ethanol plant? Photo: iStockphoto. More and more ethanol manufacturers are looking to power their plants […]