Environment -- Putting The Brakes On Coal Pollution

November 17, 2008

by Faiz Shakir, Amanda Terkel, Satyam Khanna, Matt Corley, Benjamin Armbruster, Ali Frick, Ryan Powers, and Brad Johnson

ENVIRONMENT

Putting The Brakes On Coal Pollution

The brakes have been applied to the construction of new coal plants in the United States following a permit denial last week by the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) top rulemaking panel. The EPA's Environmental Appeals Board ruled Thursday that the EPA had no valid reason for failing to place limits on the global warming emissions from Desert Power's proposed 110-megawatt coal-fired power plant in Vernal, UT. Deseret's Bonanza Generating Station, which would have emitted 3.37 million tons of carbon dioxide each year, is one of about 100 proposed coal plants that may now be required to limit their greenhouse gas emissions. "The carbon-intensive fossil fuel provides nearly half of the United States' electricity, and is responsible for some 30% of the country's greenhouse gas emissions," wrote Time magazine. If the proposed plants are built "without the means to capture and sequester underground the carbon they emit -- and it's far from clear that such technology will be commercially viable in the near-term -- our ambitious goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and avert climate change will be meaningless."

'BACK TO SQUARE ONE': In July 2007, the EPA issued a permit for the Bonanza plant, ignoring the Clean Air Act's stipulation that new plants must include a "best-available control technology" emissions limit for each pollutant "subject to regulation under the Act." Three months earlier, the Supreme Court had ruled that carbon dioxide is a global warming pollutant and mandated the EPA to take action. Before the Sierra Club brought suit against the Bonanza permit for ignoring the Supreme Court decision, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform opened an investigation, saying, "The Administration's shameful decision rewards polluters, flouts the Clean Air Act, and fails the American people." Corporate trade groups who joined the Bush administration in arguing the permit should be upheld included the American Petroleum Institute, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the American Chemistry Council and the National Association of Manufacturers. The Environmental Appeals Board instead found for the plaintiffs, describing the Bush administration's arguments in a 69-page decision as "weak," "questionable," "not sustainable," and "not sufficient." The decision rebuked the EPA for failing to issue CO2 regulations, repeatedly recommending an "action of nationwide scope." The EPA board is "sending this permit -- and effectively sending every other permit -- back to square one," said David Bookbinder, chief climate counsel for the Sierra Club. He added, "It's minimum a one- to two-year delay for every proposed coal-fired power plant in the United States."

RISKS OF COAL: Coal is the dominant fuel for electricity generation in the United States because of its historically low cost for producers, but that is only because the real price of its pollution is not considered. The particulate matter, smog, and acid rain from burning coal cause billions of dollars in additional health costs a year. As Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) said this summer, "Coal makes us sick." Combined with the environmental degradation of mining coal and the planetary risks of climate change from coal's carbon dioxide emissions, the "market externalities" of coal-fired electricity -- the costs paid by society, not the producers -- mean that the true cost of coal is immense. In October, Dynegy, a major owner of coal-burning power plants, "agreed to put detailed information in its financial filings on any material business risks posed by climate change." Innovest Strategic Value Advisors has warned investors and ratepayers of the financial risks of proposed unregulated coal-fired plants in Kansas, Colorado, and Nevada. Following the EPA board decision, coal stocks took a material hit on Friday: Peabody Energy declined 8 percent, and Massey Energy and Arch Coal plunged 12 percent. "The single most important thing we could do is to put a price on the CO2 in our economy today," argued Al Gore in September. "Tax what we burn, not what we earn."

NO NEW COAL: Leading climate scientists and activists, from James Hansen to Al Gore, have called for an immediate moratorium on the construction of new coal plants. This past weekend, thousands of youth activists took part in protests against the financing of new coal-fired plants. In September, the Arkansas Commission on Global Warming adopted a recommendation that "no new coal plants be built in Arkansas" until carbon sequestration technology is ready. The Center for American Progress recommends that comprehensive climate change legislation include an emission performance standard for new coal plants which would require these plants to capture and store their CO2 emissions, with a crash course to develop the new technology. Investments in new coal technology are needed to mitigate its risks, but they will not be major job creators. Most of the dollars invested in coal go to capital-intensive efforts such as mining and plant construction that generate few jobs. In contrast, the "green economy" -- based on retrofitting buildings, mass transit, energy-efficient automobiles, wind power, solar power, and cellulosic biomass fuels -- creates many more jobs. Joanna Spalding, the Sierra Club attorney who successfully argued the case, remarked, "This decision gives the Obama Administration a clean slate to begin building our clean energy economy for the 21st century."

JUSTICE -- RECORD NUMBER OF FELONS SEEK PARDONS FROM BUSH: As President Bush enters his final months in office, a record number of felons are seeking presidential pardons or commutations from him, causing "one of the largest backlogs in clemency applications in recent history." In fiscal year 2008, which ended on Sept. 30, more than 2,300 people applied for a pardon or commutation, the largest number for any single year since at least 1900. An additional 103 people have applied for pardons in the last month. The list of those applying for clemency includes a number of "high-profile felons" such as John Walker Lindh, the so-called American Taliban, and Randy "Duke" Cunningham, the former California congressman who was convicted of tax evasion. In his presidency thus far, Bush has "taken a stingy stand on pardons," granting fewer of them than any president in modern history. But Bush's use of his clemency powers has not been without controversy. In 2007, Bush commuted former vice presidential chief of staff Scooter Libby's two-and-a-half year prison sentence for lying to federal prosecutors. Though Libby has not submitted a pardon request, "speculation is rampant that Libby's allies will press Bush for one."

TORTURE -- OBAMA PROMISES TO END TORTURE TO HELP 'REGAIN AMERICA'S MORAL STATURE': Recently, the Wall Street Journal wrote, "President-elect Barack Obama is unlikely to radically overhaul controversial Bush administration intelligence policies," including torture. Last night, Obama put those concerns to rest, in an interview with CBS's 60 Minutes. CBS's Steve Kroft asked if Obama planned "to take early action" on changing interrogation methods and shutting the detention camp at Guantanamo Bay. "Yes," Obama replied unambiguously, "I have said repeatedly that I intend to close Guantanamo, and I will follow through on that. I have said repeatedly that America doesn't torture, and I'm going to make sure that we don't torture. Those are part and parcel of an effort to regain America's moral stature in the world." Recently, CIA senior deputy general counsel John Rizzo, who had been a strong advocate for torture under the Bush administration, said that the CIA detention and interrogation program must be "dealt with immediately." "We do not have the luxury to wait and muddle through," Rizzo added.

RADICAL RIGHT -- CONSERVATIVES ADMIT AMERICA IS CENTER-LEFT: For the first two weeks after the progressive victories on Nov. 4, leading conservative pundits and politicians appeared to be in denial, falsely claiming again and again that the United States remained a "center-right" country. This week, however, some conservatives admitted that the country is, in fact, "center-left." Hoover Institution fellow and former informal adviser to the McCain campaign Tod Lindberg explained in a Washington Post op-ed, "It is now harder for the Republican presidential candidate to get to 50.1 percent than for the Democrat. ... The decline of Republican strength occurs by having strong Republicans become weak Republicans, weak Republicans becoming independents, and independents leaning more Democratic or even becoming Democrats." Other conservatives now admit that, in recent years, they have failed to respond to issues that matter to Americans. In an interview with the Washington Times, Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) said, "Where we have really fallen down is, we have lacked the ability to be relevant to people's lives." "It's the roads...It's education, it's health care," he explained. Cantor is expected to be House Minority Whip in the next Congress.

Former senator Phil Gramm, who once said subprime loans were "the American dream in action" and declared recently that America has "become a nation of whiners," has no remorse over pushing deregulation throughout this career. Rejecting "this idea afloat that if you had more regulation you would have fewer mistakes," Gramm told the New York Times. "The markets have worked better than you might have thought."

On Election Day, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management announced a Dec. 19 auction of more than 50,000 acres of oil and gas parcels alongside or within view of three national parks in Utah. Environmentalists are calling the move a Bush administration "fire sale" for the oil and gas industry while the National Park Service's top official in the state said it was "shocking and disturbing."

According to a new National Association of Business Economists' poll of 50 professional forecasters, "The U.S. economy is in recession and will contract at a faster pace in the fourth quarter, extending the decline into early 2009 as high unemployment crimps consumer spending." Preliminary government estimates showed GDP contracted 0.3 percent in the third quarter.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said he would "welcome" and "support" a meeting between President-elect Barack Obama and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il if Obama were to take such a step after taking office. More »

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani did not rule out running for governor of New York. "I don't know if I'd be interested in it, but I'll think about it when the right time comes along," Giuliani said.

Forty-one percent of Americans believe that the "Secretary of the Treasury will be the Obama administration member who will matter most to the country's future," according to a new CNN/Opinion Research poll. By contrast, 25 percent believe the Secretary of State will matter most, while 25 percent believe that the Secretary of Defense will be most important.

On the eve of the election, President-elect Obama wrote a series of letters to federal workers offering "detailed descriptions of how he intends to add muscle to specific government programs, give new power to bureaucrats and roll back some Bush administration policies."

The U.S. military is now barring "Iraqi interpreters working with American troops in Baghdad from wearing ski masks to disguise themselves, prompting some to resign and others to bare their faces even though they fear it could get them killed." Lt. Col. Steve Stover, a spokesman for the U.S. military, simply responded that Iraqis dissatisfied with the policy "can seek alternative employment."

And finally: An Obama baby boom? Newsweek writes, "In the hours and days since Obama's victory, many of his exhilarated supporters have been, shall we say, in the mood for love. And though it's too soon to know for sure, experts aren't ruling out the possibility of an Obama baby boom -- the kind of blip in the national birth rate that often follows a seismic event." Abbi Whitaker of Reno, NV, for example, said that on election night, she and her husband "managed to down a bottle and a half of wine in celebration and he was all about making an 'Obama election baby.'"

"Iraq's cabinet on Sunday overwhelmingly approved a proposed security agreement that calls for a full withdrawal of American forces from the country by the end of 2011."

THINK PROGRESS: Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND): Sen. Joe Lieberman's (I-CT) actions during the 2008 campaign were unacceptable for a committee chairman.

WONK ROOM: Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal's (R) uncertain health care proposal.

YGLESIAS: George Will v. Paul Krugman on the Depression.

ATTACKERMAN: The Iraqi cabinet's approval of the status of forces agreement shows that the Iraqis are forcing an end to the war.

CALIFORNIA: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) says state Supreme Court should review the Prop. 8 same-sex marriage ban.

ECONOMY: "A majority of states...are scrambling to find ways to get through the rest of the year without hacking apart vital services or raising taxes."

CIVIL RIGHTS: Thousands rally nationwide for marriage equality.

"President-elect Barack Obama is unlikely to radically overhaul controversial Bush administration intelligence policies."
-- Wall Street Journal, 11/11/08

VERSUS

"I have said repeatedly that I intend to close Guantanamo, and I will follow through on that. I have said repeatedly that America doesn't torture, and I'm going to make sure that we don't torture."
-- Obama, 11/16/08

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Putting The Brakes On Coal Pollution

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