Category Archives: Climate change

Coal communities are dying

Res communes

Mankind is together on our planet circling the sun. We share resources in common. Globalism has a goal of protecting the “res communes” of our planet.

“Res communes”: things owned by no one and subject to use by all :  things (as light, air, the sea, running water) incapable of entire exclusive appropriation [1]

A global scientific consensus has decided that our planet’s climate is being changed from the effects of man. The climate change of a “greenhouse effect” from man-made carbon pollution will raise the global temperature, “global warming”, resulting in disrupted weather patterns and rising sea level.

Graph showing human vs natural influences on rising global temperature on the climate

Human vs Natural Factors in Global temperature change (Environmental Protection Agency)

The globalists have had a push for controlling carbon emission for decades. Dire predictions are forecast if humanity fails to rally behind this cause to save our planet. The published scientific research consensus states that failure to address global warming quickly will result in catastrophic consequences for our planet. Goals have been set and countries have met in global meetings to sign agreements.

President Barack Obama in his State of the Union Address on January 20, 2015 declared…

“No challenge–no challenge–poses a greater threat to future generations than climate change”

Anyone not convinced by this rhetoric or the data are chided and called “climate deniers” or “climate change skeptics”. The argument is to trust quickly followed by dire warnings for failure to do so.

“The best scientists in the world are all telling us that our activities are changing the climate, and if we do not act forcefully, we’ll continue to see rising oceans, longer, hotter heat waves, dangerous droughts and floods, and massive disruptions that can trigger greater migration, conflict, and hunger around the globe.”

“Trust us”

The new President-elect, Donald Trump, is not convinced nor is the Republican Party of the United States.

At  1:15 PM – 6 Nov 2012 Donald Trump tweeted:

The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.

Trump says that was a joke, but has continued into 2016 to use the word “hoax” when discussing global warming and considers requirements to limit carbon emissions as a form of economic tax that harms the US ability to compete in the world market. Compliance is changing the choices and economics of energy usage.

Coal: dirty energy source

“The Union of Concerned Scientists” says that coal plants are a “dirty energy source” contributing to global warming and must be phased out. About 25% of the nation’s coal comes from Appalachia.

Burning coal pollutes our environment with toxins, produces a quarter of U.S. global warming emissions, and accounts for a whopping 80 percent of all carbon emissions produced by power generation nationwide.[2]

Donald Trump, denier and skeptic, during his campaign promised to bring back coal miner jobs in the United States and to open up coal mines and remove regulations on carbon emissions. “We’re going to bring back the coal industry, save the coal industry”. This “promise” helped the Republican party win 2/3rd of the votes in the state of West Virginia, which is actually majority Democrat.

Donald Trump holds up miner's helmet at rally in Charleston, WV May 5, 2016 - miner's holding up signs

Charleston, WV May 5, 2016 Charleston Civic Center – ABC News video screen grab

The coal miners want jobs and not hand outs, but coal is a declining industry worldwide and coal mining jobs are being lost across the country.

Coal is a lost cause

Joe Romm, Founding Editor of Climate Progress describes coal industry as a lost cause for the United States.

“There is zero chance Donald Trump or anyone else can reverse the multi-decade decline in coal jobs” [3]

The global warming push dictates that failure to recognize the continued reliance of fossil fuels, coal in particular, will only accelerate an Armageddon from climate change.

“we will be leaving the majority of coal reserves in the ground simply to avoid catastrophic global warming” [3]

American coal miners are losing to other energy sources as “U.S. coal output has declined steadily since 2008, with production in 2015 expected to be at its lowest level since 1986.” [4] Coal still fuels 32% of American’s power production, but is quickly declining and there is a glut of coal stockpiles. [4] Natural gas and shale, wind power and solar are competing with coal. The pressure by “res communes” on global warming puts all fossil fuels in the cross hairs. Environmentalists want coal-fired electricity plants phased out by 2030, saying they are too costly to operate and too harmful to the environment.[4]

“community is not only suffering, it’s dying”

The recent U.S. election showed lies and bias in the media and private meetings by elites presenting agendas contrary to what was presented to the public. Those trying to put food on the table today and distrustful of the veracity of media and their own government or the globalist elites may not be ready to sacrifice themselves for an unknown future. Global warming may flood the coasts and create weather changes in the future. In the present their “community is not only suffering, it’s dying.” [5] as described by an old miner. Donald Trump listened to the out cries of the left-behind US workers with no replacement industry or livelihoods. This “America First” view helped put him over the top in voter turn-out to become the next President of the United States to the chagrin of many globalists. Unfortunately too little too late for the Appalachian coal mining communities and their “way of life”.

[1] Merriam Webster free on-line dictionary

[2]Union of Concerned Scientists – coal power: air pollution

[3] Donald Trump Says He’ll Bring Back Jobs For Coal Miners But He’s Just Blowing Smoke May 2016

[4] “Scientific American” – Is there a future for coal? April 2016

[5] CQ Researcher “Coal Industry’s Future” Vol 26, No 23 June 2016

Video on YouTube: Donald Trump rally at Charleston, WV May 5, 2016 Charleston Civic Center – ABC News May 2016

Graph source: Environmental Protection Agency – “Causes of Climate Change”

Video and Transcript: President Barack Obama State of the Union speech January 20, 2015

Other:

Teach Coal

Coal and climate change Worldcoal.org

Business Insider: “Death of Coal” April 2016

“The Atlantic” – Coal Mining is a way of life by Joe Biden April 2015

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_scientists_opposing_the_mainstream_scientific_assessment_of_global_warming

Additional link – added 12/2/2016

NYT’s Misleading Tale on Lost West Virginia Mining Jobs 11/28/2016

west virginia mining

Coal Mining Jobs in West Virginia (Bureau of Labor Statistics) from article link