mine workers

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, June 29, 2016

A supplement to Eco Unionist News:

Lead Stories:

• Will Brexit end oil rally? - By Bloomberg, FuelFix, June 27, 2016; [related]: EU Shock Wave: The Latest from London as Market Upheaval Continues - By Paul Harris, Evaluate Energy, June 27, 2016 | Brexit and the energy equation - By Kurt Cobb, Resource Insights, June 26, 2016 | Oil plunges on British vote to leave EU - By Bloomberg, FuelFix, June 24, 2016 | Oil down in advance of ‘Brexit’ vote - By Bloomberg, FuelFix, June 21, 2016
• 150 N.M. coal workers laid off as concerns over industry rise - By Rebecca Moss, New Mexican, June 26, 2016
• Oil bust leaves Texas, other states with massive well cleanup - By Associated Press, FuelFix, June 20, 2016  

Other Carbon Bubble News:

• Coal Troubles Hit Railroad Workers - By Rebecca Jacobson, Inside Energy, June 28, 2016
• How energy’s troubles weigh on Houston economy - By Lydia DePillis, FuelFix, June 27, 2016
• Berlin’s Parliament Has Voted To Divest From Fossil Fuels - By James Ayre, Clean Technica, June 26, 2016
• Berlin votes to divest - By Louise Hazan, Fossil Free, June 23, 2016
• Feds, questioning reclamation plan, play trump card in Alpha Natural Resources bankruptcy - By Benjamin Storrow, Casper Star Tribune, June 23, 2016
• “There go the coal plants”: Philippines energy at a crossroad - By Gerry Arances, REnew Economy, June 23, 2016
• Government Opposes Alpha’s Plan To Sell Wyoming Mines - By Stephanie Joyce, Inside Energy, June 22, 2016
• Turkey coal surge an ‘historic error’ say economists - By Ed King, Climate Change News, June 22, 2016
• Will Congress protect retired coal miners? - By Ken Ward Jr, Charleston Gazette-Mail, June 22, 2016
• Cambridge Turns Its Back On Coal & Tar Sands Investments - By Joshua S Hill, Clean Technica, June 21, 2016
• Venezuela’s oil production could fall half a million barrels a day in 2016, Barclays says - By Collin Eaton, FuelFix, June 21, 2016
• As Wind Power Lifts Wyoming’s Fortunes, Coal Miners Are Left in the Dust - By Coral Davenport, New York Times, June 19, 2016
• U.S. Lawmakers Want To Ban Self-Bonding - By Leigh Paterson, Inside Energy, June 16, 2016

Utility Death Spiral News:

• UK Solar Energy Industry Loses More Than ½ Of Jobs Following Subsidy Cuts - By James Ayre, Clean Technica, June 26, 2016
• North Carolina lawmakers push measure to restrict wind farms - By Robert Walton, Utility Dive, June 24, 2016
• How storage can help solve the distributed energy 'death spiral' - By Herman K. Trabish, Utility Dive, June 21, 2016
• Morgan Stanley: Australian utilities underestimate disruptive power of solar+storage - By Peter Maloney, Utility Dive, June 21, 2016
• Why Battery Storage Costs In Australia May Fall 40% In Two Years - By Giles Parkinson, Clean Technica, June 21, 2016
• Deep Politics, Dark Money and Fraud Join the Solar Party - By Julia Pyper, GreenTech Media, June 20, 2016
• Utility Rate Changes Mean Cloudy Future For Montana Solar Power - By Corin Cates-Carney, Montana Public Radio, June 16, 2016

For more green news, please visit our news feeds section on ecology.iww.org; Twitter #IWWEUC; Hashtags: #greenunionism #greensyndicalism #IWW. Please send suggested news items to include in this series to euc [at] iww.org.

By Heffa Schücking - Urgewald, Future in our hands, and Greenpeace Norway, Summer 2016

(in 2015), the Norwegian Parliament took a historic decision to move the Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG) out of thermal coal. The Parliament determined that companies should be excluded if they “base 30% or more of their activities on coal, and/or derive 30% of their revenues from coal.”1Thiswas an important break-through as the 30% threshold established a new benchmark for divestment actions of large investors. Only months after the Norwegian decision, the world’s largest insurance company, Allianz, undertook a coal divestment action of its own based on the GPFG’s 30% threshold.2And other investors such as KLP and Storebrand, which had already undertaken divestment actions, have now tightened their thresholds to keep up with the trail blazed by the Norwegian Parliament.

This briefing provides a “snapshot” of how the world’s largest coal divestment action (was progressing by 2016). To this end, we have analyzed the GPFG’s holdings list from December 31st 2015 as well as the implementation guidelines laid out by Norway’s Finance Ministry. Although the divestment action is not due to be completed until the end of 2016, we wish to draw attention to some weaknesses that could diminish the scope and impact of the Storting’s decision if they are not addressed.

Read the text (PDF).

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, June 21, 2016

A supplement to Eco Unionist News:

Lead Stories:

• Illinois coal’s last stand - By Kari Lydersen, Chicago Reader, June 15, 2016
• Solar and wind energy’s stunning cost falls to continue - By Giles Parkinson, REnew Economy, June 14, 2016; [related]: Solar To See Twice As Much Investment As Fossil Fuels By 2040 - By Nick Cunningham, OilPrice.Com, June 14, 2016; [and]: Renewables are poised to put global fossil fuel investment to shame - By Katie Herzog, Grist, June 13, 2016 
• The World Nears Peak Fossil Fuels for Electricity - By Tom Randall, Bloomberg, June 12, 2016; [related]: Are We Reaching Peak Fossil Fuel for Power Generation? - By Katherine Tweed, Green Tech Media, June 14, 2016 
• Coal Production Plummets to Lowest Level in 35 Years - By Clifford Krauss, New York Times, June 10, 2016
• Natural Gas Is Already Losing To Renewables - By Nick Cunningham, OilPrice.Com, June 9, 2016  

Other Carbon Bubble News:

• Brown coal’s bleak future as Victoria ramps up renewables - By Giles Parkinson, REnew Economy, June 17, 2016
• Job cuts could subside by 4th quarter. But there’s a big ‘if.’ - By Collin Eaton, FuelFix, June 16, 2016
• Kentucky Lawmakers Want To Revitalize Coal Country By Building A Prison - By Carimah Townes and Alejandro Davila Fragoso, Think Progress, June 16, 2016
• Coal’s claim on India’s future weakens further - By Bob Burton, End Coal, June 15, 2016
• Distributed renewables in Latin America and beyond [19] - Adam James interviewed by Chris Nelder, The Energy Transition Show, June 15, 2016
• Goldman Sachs: The oil rebound remains fragile - By Collin Eaton, FuelFix, June 15, 2016
• Re-tendering Hibernia contracts stressing workers, says union - By Terry Roberts, CBC, June 15, 2016
• Stockholm Divests From Coal, Oil and Gas - By 350, EcoWatch, June 15, 2016
• Who Pays For Clean Up When Coal Goes Bankrupt? - By Rebecca Jacobson and Leigh Paterson, Inside Energy, June 15, 2016
• Coal is dying – it’s time to put us out of its misery - By Tim Hollo, REnew Economy, June 14, 2016
• Oil market, prices stabilizing, says IEA - By staff, FuelFix, June 14, 2016
• Venezuela: Crisis and Propaganda - By José L. Flores, CounterPunch, June 14, 2016

Utility Death Spiral News:

• How rooftop solar has dramatically shifted and reduced peak demand - By Giles Parkinson, REnew Economy, June 16, 2016
• Court rolls back municipal utility takeover in Germany - By Craig Morris, Renewables International, June 15, 2016
• U.S. Chamber of Commerce joins anti-solar crusade - By Ben Adler, Grist, June 15, 2016
• Wyoming's wind tax debate puts plans for biggest North American wind farm in doubt - By Robert Walton, Utility Dive, June 15, 2016
• Worrying Deceleration In The Growth Rate of Wind & Solar - By Roger Boyd, Humanity's Test, June 14, 2016
• More than half of jobs in UK solar industry lost in wake of subsidy cuts - By Terry Macalister, The Guardian, June 11, 2016; [related]: Jobs Toll Set to Worsen Amid UK Renewable Energy Subsidy Cuts - By Andrew Mourant, Renewable Energy World, June 17, 2016  

For more green news, please visit our news feeds section on ecology.iww.org; Twitter #IWWEUC; Hashtags: #greenunionism #greensyndicalism #IWW. Please send suggested news items to include in this series to euc [at] iww.org.

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, May 25, 2016

A supplement to Eco Unionist News:

Lead Stories:

• Seven signs a clean energy revolution is under way - By Megan Darby, Climate Change News, May 18, 2016
• Sightline on the Bankruptcy of Coal - By Keiko Budech, Sightline Institute, May 18, 2016
• Coal workers get screwed, their bosses get bonuses - By Melissa Cronin, Grist, May 17, 2016; [related] Executives Running Collapsing Coal Companies Award Themselves Millions While Laying Off Workers - By Alejandro Davila Fragoso, Think Progress, May 18, 2016
• What the U.S. can learn from European coal miners’ second act - By Joshua Zaffos, High Country News, May 16, 2016
• The Other Fire: Fort McMurray's Slow Burn - By Andrew Nikiforuk, The Tyee, May 13, 2016 

Other Carbon Bubble News:

• Banks increasing credit squeeze on drillers - By Bloomberg, FuelFix, May 20, 2016
• How Did Things Get So Bad, So Fast for the Coal Industry? - By Jordan Wirfs-Brock, Inside Energy, May 20, 2016
• The coal tide recedes just a little bit further - By Bob Burton, End Coal, May 19, 2016
• Oil slips in face of stronger dollar - By Bloomberg, FuelFix, May 19, 2016
• Caterpillar retail sales drop 12% in first three months of the year - By Cecilia Jamasmie, Mining.Com, May 18, 2016
• Halcón Resources planning to file prepackaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy - By Collin Eaton, FuelFix, May 18, 2016
• Shale debt defaults set to reach scale of telecoms crash, Fitch says - By Collin Eaton, FuelFix, May 18, 2016
• Solar Energy Tops Coal In UK - By Jake Richardson, Clean Technica, May 18, 2016
• Unions threaten riots, strikes as Nigeria ditches oil subsidy - By Ed King, Climate Change News, May 18, 2016
• Here’s a sign that Kentucky’s politics might finally be shifting away from coal - By Rebecca Leber, Grist, May 17, 2016
• Clinton is making coal country a generous offer, but it’s not buying - By Ben Adler, Grist, May 16, 2016
• Statement of the Steering Committee of the 53 Independent Unions - By Zwelinzima Vavi, NUMSA, May 16, 2016
• Wind on the rise in the US, coal on the wane - By Seth Feaster, REnew Economy, May 16, 2016
• Will taxpayers foot the cleanup bill for bankrupt coal companies? - By Patrick McGinley, The Conversation, May 9, 2016

Utility Death Spiral News:

• Caps raised, New Hampshire turns attention to imminent struggle over solar value - By Herman K. Trabish, Utility Dive, May 19, 2016
• Nevada governor's task force committee recommends grandfathering rooftop solar customers - By Gavin Bade, Utility Dive, May 19, 2016
• Storing The Sun’s Energy Just Got A Whole Lot Cheaper - By Joe Romm, Think Progress, May 18, 2016
• Washington utilities reach solar incentive cap, foreshadowing net metering limits - By Herman K. Trabish, Utility Dive, May 17, 2016
• Distributed Generation (Still) Under Fire - By John Farell, Institute for Local Self-Reliance, May 16, 2016

For more green news, please visit our news feeds section on ecology.iww.org; Twitter #IWWEUC; Hashtags: #greenunionism #greensyndicalism #IWW. Please send suggested news items to include in this series to euc [at] iww.org.

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, May 17, 2016

A supplement to Eco Unionist News:

Lead Stories:

• Why Is Coal Suddenly Becoming A Major Talking Point In The Presidential Election? - By Farron Cousins, DeSmog Blog, May 14, 2016
• Higher prices provide little relief for drillers - Bloomberg, FuelFix, May 13, 2016
• Global oil and gas job losses: 350,000 and counting - By James Burgess, UPI, May 12, 2016
• Pension holders petition funds on Exxon, Chevron climate resolutions - By Megan Darby, Climate Change News, May 11, 2016
• Big Oil Abandons $2.5 Billion in U.S. Arctic Drilling Rights - By Jennifer A Dlouhy, Bloomberg, May 9, 2016; [related]: Pressure Mounts on Obama As Big Oil Abandons the Arctic - By Andy Rowell, Oil Change International, May 10, 2016; [and]: The Oil Industry Just Backed Out Of A Multi-Billion Dollar Investment - By Samantha Page, Think Progress, May 10, 2016
• Oil majors told to adapt or die - By Kieran Cooke, Climate News Network, May 9, 2016

Other Carbon Bubble News:

• Exxon Faces Questions Over Climate As Gates Dumps BP - By Andy Rowell, Oil Change International, May 13, 2016
• Natural gas prices fall on lackluster demant - Bloomberg, FuelFix, May 13, 2016
• Oil drillers find 10 more rigs to idle - By Robert Grattan, FuelFix, May 13, 2016
• South African mining production plummets 18% - By Andrew Topf, Mining.Com, May 13, 2016
• Colstrip power-plant owner: Losing money, and the future is not bright - By Mike Dennison, KXLH 9 TV, May 12, 2016
• Risky bet: Does divestment slow or speed green growth? - By Ed King, Climate Change News, May 12, 2016
• Has oil industry hit its mid-life crisis? - By Lydia Depillis, FuelFix, May 11, 2016
• Japan risks wasting US$56bn in new coal-fired power stations - By Cecilia Jamasmie, Mining.Com, May 11, 2016; [related] Expansion Of Japan’s Coal Fleet Could Strand $56 Billion - By Joshua S Hill, Clean Technica, May 13, 2016
• Linn Energy to restructure, file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy - By Robert Grattan, FuelFix, May 11, 2016
• The Plan To Revive Big Coal’s Fortunes Isn’t Panning Out - By Natasha Geiling, Think Progress, May 11, 2016
• West Virginia Democrats Just Nominated A Climate Denying Coal Baron Billionaire For Governor - By Ryan Koronowski, Think Progress, May 11, 2016
• Election Day in coal country: A race to nowhere? - By Ken Ward Jr., Charleston Gazette-Mail, May 10, 2016
• Trump Cannot Bring Back Coal - By Evan Lehmann, Scientific American, May 10, 2016
• India Wants To Kick Its Dirty Coal Habit - By Ryan Koronowski, Think Progress, May 9, 2016
• Oil bankruptcies rack up as banks cut credit lines - By Collin Eaton, FuelFix, May 9, 2016

Utility Death Spiral News:

• Debunking 4 Myths About The Clean Energy Transition: Part 1: The “Duck Curve” | Part 2: Excess Generation | Part 3: Renewable Costs | Part 4: Carbon Emissions - By Robbie Orvis, Michael O’Boyle, and Hallie Kennan, Clean Technica, May 13-16, 2016
• Hawaii solar jobs fall 35% after regulators end retail net metering - By Herman K. Trabish, Utility Dive, May 13, 2016

For more green news, please visit our news feeds section on ecology.iww.org; Twitter #IWWEUC; Hashtags: #greenunionism #greensyndicalism #IWW. Please send suggested news items to include in this series to euc [at] iww.org.

By Keith Griffith - Equal Voice News, May 3, 2016

Harlan County, Kentucky -- On his first shift in the coal mine, Brandon Farley closed his eyes to steady his nerves as the powered cart he was riding disappeared into the mountainside. A third-generation coal miner in this Appalachian corner of Eastern Kentucky, Farley began working in the mines right out of high school and kept at it for 15 years, until he was laid off in late February.

Farley, now 32 and a married father of two, worked his way up in the Appalachian coal mines to a job as an underground electrician, running the high voltage cables that power heavy, specialized equipment at the mining face. Mining is the only work he knows.

In 2010, Farley was working at the Abner Branch mine when the roof collapsed, killing his friend Travis Brock, who was 29. Farley escaped serious injury in his own years as a miner, but his hands bear a miscellany of scars from minor accidents. 

"The juice is worth the squeeze," he says, glancing at his palms with a chuckle. "I never did look at the dangers as much as I did the money."

The money, for a while, was very good. Farley was making $25 an hour in the mines. With plenty of overtime -- Farley often worked 60-hour weeks -- experienced miners like him routinely made $80,000 to $100,000 a year. In Harlan County, which has about 28,000 residents, the median household income is $25,000.

Over 50 years ago, in 1964, President Lyndon Johnson toured Appalachia to kick off his "War on Poverty." Harlan County's poverty rate, which tracks roughly with the region's, was then 55 percent. It remains more than double the national average, at 32 percent, although those numbers typically don't account for government transfer payments, such as Social Security, safety net and veterans' benefits. (In 2014, Eastern Kentucky received $13.4 billion in government entitlements, making up more than a third of the region's income.)

Though it's long been a region of economic hardship, Appalachian Kentucky now faces a crisis of alarming proportions. Since the end of 2008, the region has lost more than 10,000 coal mining jobs, a decline of more than two-thirds. Kentucky's coal production is now at its lowest level since 1954, according to the state government. Other coal mining regions have been hit by the national decline in coal production, but none as hard as this one.

Locally, the collapse of coal is often blamed on President Barack Obama and environmental safeguards, which some residents say are needed to protect water, air and families. "This all began when Obama started his 'war on coal' -- and he did," says Farley, the laid-off miner. "If they are gonna do away with coal, why not put

Experts believe that the coal industry's decline in Kentucky has more to do with the abundance of cheap natural gas and drastically cheaper coal from surface mines in Wyoming. Regardless, there is a growing sense in Harlan County that coal isn't coming back.

After his latest layoff, Farley is now reluctantly looking for other kinds of work. "That's all we ever done is mine coal, though," he says. "It's the best job I ever had."

Farley finds the prospect of taking a significantly lower-paying job unpalatable, though even finding one is a challenge. After getting career counseling from the Harlan County Community Action Agency, Farley applied for work with railroad shipper CSX. But coal makes up the bulk of CSX's shipping business, and the company announced new rounds of layoffs the week that Farley applied.

"It's strange to hear the lonesome horn of a train anymore," says HCCAA Executive Director Donna Pace. "Used to be, that's all you heard."

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, May 9, 2016

A supplement to Eco Unionist News:

Lead Stories:

• No Matter What Trump Says, Coal Mining Jobs Are Not Returning To West Virginia - By Tim Worstall, Forbes, May 5, 2016; [related]: Donald Trump Says He’ll Bring Back Jobs For Coal Miners But He’s Just Blowing Smoke - By Joe Romm, Think Progress, May 4, 2016 
• Major Milestone: More than 100,000 MW Worth of Coal-Fired Power Plants Retired - By Sierra Club , EcoWatch, May 4, 2016; [related]: Dynegy's retirement of coal units marks 100 GW of US coal shuttered since 2010 - By Robert Walton, Utility Dive, May 5, 2016
• Oil collapse most brutal in history for drillers, energy researcher says - By Collin Eaton, FuelFix, May 4, 2016
• U.S. oil industry bankruptcy wave nears size of telecom bust - By Ernest Scheyder and Terry Wade, Reuters, May 4, 2016
• Listen To U.S. Coal Production Fall Off A Cliff - By Jordan Wirfs-Brock, Inside Energy, May 3, 2016
• Mapped: The global coal trade - By various, Carbon Brief, May 3, 2016

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, May 3, 2016

A supplement to Eco Unionist News:

Lead Stories:

• The Beginning of the End of the Old Oil Order - By Michael Klare, TomDispatch, April 28, 2016
• Has the time arrived to transition away from fossil fuels? - By Fereidoon Sioshansi, REnew Economy, April 26, 2016
• Saudi Arabia Pledges to Break “Dangerous Addiction to Oil” - By Andy Rowell, Oil Change International, April 26, 2016
• Middle East economies take hit from low oil prices - Associated Press, Fuel Fix, April 25, 2016
• We Could Be Witnessing the Death of the Fossil Fuel Industry—Will It Take the Rest of the Economy Down With It? - By Nafeez Ahmed, Alternet, April 22, 2016

Other Carbon Bubble News:

• Chevron increases planned job cuts to 8,000 - By Collin Eaton, Fuel Fix, April 29, 2016; [related] Chevron posts a wider-than-expected loss - Bloomberg, Fuel Fix, April 29, 2016
• Exxon posts smallest profit since 1999 - Bloomberg, Fuel Fix, April 29, 2016
• Oil rally on “thin ice,” echoes short-lived 2015 price jump - Bloomberg, Fuel Fix, April 29, 2016
• Refining's silver lining loses luster at Exxon and Chevron - By Ernest Scheyder, Reuters, April 29, 2016
• This Chart Will Warm Your Heart If You Want America To Use Less Coal - By Ryan Koronowski, Think Progress, April 29, 2016
• U.S. Coal Use Falls 29 Percent - By Climate Nexus, EcoWatch, April 29, 2016
• U.S. oil rig count falls by more than 3 percent in a week - By Jordan Blum, Fuel Fix, April 29, 2016
• ConocoPhillips cuts spending further, posts loss - Bloomberg, Fuel Fix, April 28, 2016
• National Oilwell Varco cuts 6,000 jobs, closes 200 facilities - By Collin Eaton, Fuel Fix, April 28, 2016
• Can we learn from Europe’s approach to laid-off coal miners? - By Joshua Zaffos, High Country News, April 27, 2016
• Coal downturn hits railroads hard - By Elizabeth Shogren, High Country News, April 27, 2016
• Federal panel kills Tongue River Railroad - By Tom Lutey, Billings Gazette, April 27, 2016
• Jim Justice doubles down on climate change denial - By Ken Ward Jr., Charleston Gazette-Mail, April 27, 2016
• “We have gained money from not investing in fossil fuels” - By Andy Rowell, Oil Change International, April 27, 2016
• Why China (really) is losing its appetite for coal - By Clayton Aldern, Grist, April 27, 2016
• Daily Dispatch: Saudi Arabia plots life after oil - By Joe Sandler Clarke, Greenpeace Energy Desk, April 26, 2016
• Exxon Mobil Loses Top Credit Rating - Bloomberg, Fuel Fix, April 26, 2016
• Steel fight is not won yet by a long way - Editorial, Socialist Worker (UK), April 26, 2016
• Wave of fury offshore as work stops on rigs - By Raymie Kiernan, Socialist Worker (UK), April 26, 2016
• Aberthaw power station to downgrade operations - By Steffan Messenger, BBC, April 25, 2016
• Coal Communities Consider Life After Layoffs - By Leigh Paterson, Wyoming Public Media, April 25, 2016
• Freeport axes oil and gas workforce as it posts sixth straight loss - By Cecilia Jamasmie, Mining.Com, April 25, 2016
• Jim Justice dodges hard truth about coal’s decline - By Ken Ward Jr., Charleston Gazette-Mail, April 25, 2016
• Oil falls from 5-month high - Bloomberg, Fuel Fix, April 25, 2016
• Address by Zwelinzima Vavi to the NUMSA National Bargaining Conference - By Zwelinzima Vavi, NUMSA, April 23, 2016
• One UK steel town, one crisis that affects the nation - By staff, Associated Press, April 22, 2016

For more green news, please visit our news feeds section on ecology.iww.org; Twitter #IWWEUC; Hashtags: #greenunionism #greensyndicalism #IWW. Please send suggested news items to include in this series to euc [at] iww.org.

By staff - Public Citizen, May 2016

Over the past year, three of the United States’ major coal companies filed for bankruptcy: Alpha Natural Resources in August 2015; Arch Coal in January 2016; and Peabody Energy in April 2016.3 Although these companies and their trade association allies have often blamed environmental regulations for their precarious financial state, the truth is that debt-fueled acquisitions hobbled their finances at a time when market conditions were rapidly souring. Namely, Alpha Natural Resources, Peabody Energy, and Arch Coal bet big on future Chinese coal demand growth in 2011, going into debt to finance major expansions into metallurgical coal production during the year it was at peak price, only to see markets decline soon after the transactions were complete. At the same time, top executives were awarded record financial compensation, while slashing employee benefits and laying off workers.

Read the report (PDF).