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Obama to unveil more ambitious climate change plan

The proposal under the Clean Air Act to cut carbon pollution from existing power plants is seen before a news conference in Washington June 2, 2014. President Barack Obama will unveil on Monday the final version of his plan to tackle greenhouse gases from coal-fired power plants as he aims to cement his legacy on climate change, a senior administration official said. The revised Clean Power Plan will seek to slash carbon emissions from the power sector 32 percent from 2005 levels in 2030, a 9 percent increase over a previous proposal. The regulation will usher in a sweeping transformation of the U.S. electricity sector, encouraging an aggressive shift toward more renewable energy away from coal-fired electricity. Industry groups and some lawmakers from states that have relied on coal-based energy have said they will challenge it in the courts and through Congressional maneuvers, accusing the administration of a regulatory […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Asian Stocks Fall on China Factory Data as Energy Shares Retreat

Asian stocks fell for the first time in four days as data showed a Chinese factory gauge slipped to a five-month low and energy shares retreated amid a drop in oil. Lotte Chemical Corp. sank 14 percent in Seoul, leading declines on the regional equities gauge. China Mengniu Dairy Co. declined 4.3 percent in Hong Kong after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. recommended selling the shares. Offshore energy explorer Cnooc Ltd. fell 1.5 percent. MediaTek Inc. tumbled 9.9 percent in Taipei amid a weak sales outlook. The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index slipped 0.8 percent to 140.95 as of 5:36 p.m. in Tokyo. The measure lost 0.4 percent last week for a second weekly decline. The official China Purchasing Managers’ Index sat at 50 for July, compared with the median estimate of 50.1 in a Bloomberg survey and down from June’s 50.2. Energy shares sank as crude futures in New York slid […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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20-Ton Debris Removed From Fukushima Daiichi Fuel Pool

Tokyo Electric Power Co. said it successfully removed the largest piece of debris from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear-power plant’s Unit 3 reactor, which had fallen inside the spent-fuel pool following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami . According to Tepco, the company used two 600-ton cranes to lift the 20-ton fuel-handling machine , which was sitting on top of more than 500 fuel assemblies. While there were concerns that the procedure might damage the spent-fuel pool’s gates and reduce water levels, which could have heated up the radioactive fuel rods, Tepco said they experienced no trouble during the procedure. The lifting of the fuel-handling machine began at 11:55 a.m. on Sunday and ended at 1:18 p.m. A spokesman said that there was some fog in the area but that it didn’t affect the process. All other procedures at the nuclear power plant were halted while the debris was being removed. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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EPA’s New Emissions Rule to Alter Energy Landscape

The Environmental Protection Agency’s new rules on carbon emissions from power plants will alter the way Americans make and consume electricity, accelerating a dramatic shift to cleaner fuels, renewable energy and consumer choice. Even as the new regulations on greenhouse gases face legal challenges, they will force sweeping changes to the once hidebound electricity business. Utility companies and state regulators will need to rewire the electric grid to accommodate more renewable power, much of it generated by customers. Cutting carbon emissions 32% by 2030 will require billions of dollars in investments to pay for new transmission lines that accommodate more solar and wind power and new pipelines to fuel natural-gas-fired generation, as coal becomes less important as a fuel for power plants. Utilities, which expect to spend more than $100 billion next year on capital projects, will adjust their spending programs to reflect the new rules even as court […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Alpha Natural Resources to Seek Chapter 11

The ailing U.S. coal industry is about to get another black mark. Alpha Natural Resources Inc. is expected to file for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection early Monday to cut its more than $3 billion debt load, according to people familiar with the matter, as a severe slump in coal prices continues to wreak havoc on the industry. The Bristol, Va., company, one of the largest U.S. coal producers, hasn’t completed the terms of a restructuring plan but will likely sell some of its best mines or turn them over to creditors and close others during its trip through bankruptcy court, the people said. Alpha has secured as much as $600 million in bankruptcy financing from senior lenders and secured bondholders to fund its operations during its chapter 11 case, some of the people said. A steep drop in coal prices has Alpha and its rivals bleeding cash and choking […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Economy Takes Center Stage as Harper Kicks Off Canada Election

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Photographer: Patrick Doyle/Bloomberg Prime Minister Stephen Harper began Canada’s longest election campaign in more than a century by touting his economic stewardship as his main rivals jockeyed to be seen as the best agent of change. The incumbent Conservative leader fired the starting gun early on Canada’s 42nd election campaign Sunday morning, meeting Governor General David Johnston, Queen Elizabeth II’s representative in Canada, to request parliament be dissolved. The visit marked the formal start of campaigning for an Oct. 19 vote, with polls showing Harper’s nine-year reign being threatened by a leftist party that’s never governed the country. “A national election is not a popularity contest,” Harper, 56, said outside Ottawa’s Rideau Hall. “Canadians will make a serious choice between proven, real-world experience and a dangerous approach that has failed before and is failing in other countries.” The Conservatives are locked in a three-way […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Coal Left Fighting Over America’s Last Plants as Rules Mount

U.S. power plants are burning the least amount of coal seasonally in more than a decade, and yet supplies continue to climb. For the latest front in the war on coal, look no further than the Coffeen Power Station, about 60 miles south of Springfield, Illinois. Trains roll into Dynegy Inc.’s plant hauling coal mined halfway across the country in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin — even though there’s a mine just a few miles down the road. That galls Illinois state representative John Bradley, who’s pushing for legislation that’ll boost the use of the state’s own supply. “Powder River Basin coal is not as good as coal from Illinois,” Bradley, a Democrat, said by phone. “Illinoisans are sitting on better coal than any other in the country.” America’s coal miners are getting so desperate, beaten down by the lowest prices in eight years, increasing competition and mounting environmental regulations, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Peak oil, Peak gold, Peak everything – coming disaster for everyone

The global financial and political scene is now undergoing a transition that goes largely unnoticed and escapes general comprehension. Many facts and indicators provide mounting evidence that the status of the US dollar as international reserve currency is being seriously threatened by the BRICS economic block and that alternative arrangements for international trade and commerce, planned two or three years ago, are being systematically implemented via the Asia Infrastructure and Investment Bank and the Shanghai Gold Exchange. It might seem puzzling to some why any change would be necessary. The only logical explanation is that the super-elite group of bankers and royal families that secretly control global affairs have come to realize what’s threatening the world’s future prosperity today. Even though governments are not discussing this, statistics that apply the correct accounting and forecasting methods show that we reached peak oil in 2014. Many industry experts contend that 2015 […]

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Three Years Ago This Coal Mine Was Worth $624 Million. Now It Sold for $1

The destructive force of a collapse in world coal prices has been underscored by the sale of a mine valued at A$860 million ($631 million) three years ago for just a dollar. Brazilian miner Vale SA and Japan’s Sumitomo Corp. sold the Isaac Plains coking-coal mine in Australia to Stanmore Coal Ltd., the Brisbane-based company said Thursday in a statement. Sumitomo bought a half stake for A$430 million in 2012. A slump in the price of coking coal, used to make steel, to a decade low is forcing mines to close across the world and bankrupting some producers. Alpha Natural Resources Inc., the biggest U.S. producer, plans to file for bankruptcy protection in Virginia as soon as Monday, said three people with direct knowledge of the matter. It was valued at $7.3 billion in 2008. Isaac Plains in Queensland “was one of the most exciting coal projects in Australia,” […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Oil Drops For 5th Week; US Crude In Biggest Monthly Fall Since 2008

NEW YORK, July 31 (Reuters) – U.S. crude posted its biggest monthly drop since the 2008 financial crisis on Friday after a string of losses in July triggered by China’s stock market slump and signs that top Middle East producers were pumping crude at record levels. A higher U.S. oil rig count for a second straight week added to the market’s downside Friday despite a weaker dollar, which would normally support commodities. Heavy hedging activity in gasoline and diesel futures ahead of front-month contract expiration dominated play on the petroleum complex, diverting some attention from crude. Oil prices fell for a fifth straight week. U.S. crude settled down $1.40, or almost 3 percent, at $47.32 a barrel. It slid more than 2 percent on the week. Through July, U.S. crude was down 21 percent, its largest monthly decline since October 2008, when oil had an epic collapse at the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple