Search Results for: "war on coal"

New Film Documents Horrors of Coal Mining

By Peter Galuszka Several years in the making, “Blood on the Mountain” has finally premiered in New York City. The documentary examines the cycle of exploitation of people and environment by West Virginia’s coal industry highlighting Massey Energy, a coal … Continue reading

Non-Coal Jobs Thriving in Energy Sector

By Peter Galuszka Is there a real “War on Coal” or is it part of a natural transition to more non-polluting and less destructive forms of energy? One way to find out is to track job creation. A new study … Continue reading

NRDC Says Clean Power Plan Benefits Virginia

By Peter Galuszka In a sweeping contradiction of the positions of Dominion Virginia Power and assorted politicians and regulators, the Natural  Resources Defense Council has issued a report saying that Virginia will benefit by following a proposed federal plan to cut … Continue reading

Carbon Cuts: Why PJM Has a Better Idea

By Peter Galuszka Amidst all the gnashing of teeth in Virginia about complying with proposed federal carbon dioxide rules, there seems to be one very large part of the debate that’s missing. Several recent analytical reports explore using regional, carbon … Continue reading

Time For a Fossil Fuel Reality Check

By Peter Galuszka Let’s pause for a moment, catch our breath and realize what is really going on in the world of fossil fuel and climate change. We’ve heard tons of loosely-based opinion from climate change deniers and drum beaters … Continue reading

Former Massey Coal Chief Indicted

By Peter Galuszka The indictment today in Charleston, W.Va. of coal baron Donald L. Blankenship, the former head of the notorious Massey Energy Company, for violating federal mine safety and securities laws, has been long awaited, especially by the families … Continue reading

Why Virginia Has No Renewable Energy

 By Peter Galuszka For all the hew and cry over renewable energy sources and the “War on Coal,” it is extremely interesting to see just how much progress Virginia has made with renewable energy. The answer: hardly any to none. … Continue reading

More Coal Industry Propaganda

 By Peter Galuszka If you read a blog posting just below this (the one with the coal miner with an intense look on his grit-covered face), you will see how hyperbole, confusion, misunderstanding, ignorance and one-sided arguments twist something very … Continue reading

Thank God for Obama’s Carbon Rules

By Peter Galuszka At long last, President Barack Obama has released proposed new pollution rules that would target shutting or cleaning up coal-fired electricity plants to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 30 percent over the next 16 years. The plan … Continue reading

Coal: The High Cost of Carbon Capture

By Peter Galuszka It sounds almost too good to be true and it apparently is. A few years ago, trying to keep burning coal while dealing with carbon dioxide pollution, the Southern Co. announced plans for a $1.8 billion coal-fired … Continue reading

An Ex-Coal Baron’s Strange Movie

By Peter Galuszka Almost four years after 29 miners employed by then Richmond-based Massey Energy were killed in a West Virginia mine explosion, its former chief executive under federal investigation for widespread safety violations has come forward with an apparently … Continue reading

Yet Another Coal-Related Mess

By Peter Galuszka More and more, “The War on Coal.” seems like “The War On Us.” Just a few weeks after 300,000 people in the Charleston, W.Va. area were without drinking water because of a coal preparation chemical leaked into … Continue reading

West Virginia’s Lessons on Fracking

 By Peter Galuszka Tap water is now drinkable for most of the 300,000 residents in the environs of  Charleston, the capital of Virginia’s sister state to the west, but the mess has ample warnings for future problems notably fracking for … Continue reading

Where the Poor Are

By Peter Galuszka With expanding Medicaid about to become a major issue with the incoming Terry McAuliffe administration, it is curious to see exactly where the poor people in Virginia live. An intriguing New York Times interactive graph provides clues … Continue reading

The Birth and Death of “Miner’s Revenge”

By Peter Galuszka A couple of weeks ago, Scott, the photographer with whom I worked on my book on Massey Energy and the worst mine disaster in 40 years, emailed me to ask if I knew about a new Halloween … Continue reading