Tag Archives: manchester

Fuming residents are fighting back against a neighboring oil refinery

by MarisolMontano Posted on October 4, 2018

Nestled between two major highways, the Houston ship channel, and a Valero refinery, the neighborhood of Manchester stews in a witches’ brew of toxic chemicals. Houston, known as the Petro Metro, is home to a quarter of the petroleum refining capacity in the United States. An elementary school next to a chemical plant; a public park next to a refinery. These are the kinds of places that exist in Manchester.

The southeastern Houston community is brimming with industrial facilities — over a dozen, including oil refineries, chemical facilities, and a metal recycling plant. Like most of Houston, many of these hazardous facilities make up a large part of the local economy. And as many locals see it, they may also account for many of the community’s health problems.

Yvette Arellano, a community organizer for the Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services, told Grist they’ve heard local mothers give tear-filled accounts of their children suffering from constantly red eyes and unable to eat because of nausea from the fumes. Manchester residents are actually at a 22 percent higher risk of cancer than the overall Houston urban area, according to a 2016 report.

“The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has two goals: economic health and public health,” said Arellano, “public [health] coming second.”

Manchester is not the only community bombarded with potentially harmful chemicals. According to a new report by the Environmental Justice Health Alliance, nearly 40 percent of the country lives within three miles of at least one of the 12,500 high-risk chemical facilities (federally regulated by the EPA’s Risk Management Plan Rule) in the United States. This area is what is known to some activists as the “fenceline” zone.

People of color and people at or near poverty levels tend to make up a higher number of these communities, facing disparate levels of exposure to toxic chemicals. And location matters when it comes to exposure — there are 11,000 medical facilities and 125,000 schools — which 24 million children attend — within “fenceline” zones.

“These communities have been paying with their health and well being,” said Michele Roberts, co-coordinator at the Environmental Justice Health Alliance for Chemical Policy Reform and a contributor to the report.

Residents of Manchester, Texas, line up to speak at a public forum about hydrogen cyanide emissions from the nearby Valero Refinery.Courtesy of t.e.j.a.s.

Back in Manchester, concerned residents are pushing for change. Over the past several months, residents and environmental justice advocates have been facing an uphill battle against the nearby Valero refinery. Local residents’ latest grievance is the company’s request to amend a permit that would allow the refinery to emit 452 tons of hydrogen cyanide, a known neurotoxin historically used as a chemical warfare agent, yearly into the community’s air. Though the poisonous chemical compound is illegal to store and illegal to produce, it is not illegal to emit.

Local exposure to the chemical is not new. The refinery has always emitted hydrogen cyanide, but activists say the new permit will allow for emissions of almost nine times the amount that is currently being released. Valero did not respond to Grist’s request for comment.

The refinery originally sought a permit that would allow for 512 tons of hydrogen cyanide emissions per year — a number they lowered after a public uproar at the first permit hearing back in June. But concerned residents say that’s still not good enough.

“It’s a slap in the face,” Yvette Arellano, a community organizer for the Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services, told Grist. “This should not be permitted at all.”

As Manchester residents grapple with a plethora of health concerns, momentum in the community is growing. Several undocumented mothers are spearheading a coalition against Valero behind the scenes, teaming up with environmental justice groups like t.e.j.a.s. Other Manchester residents are voicing their concerns at public hearings — around 50 residents and advocates were present at the first meeting earlier this summer.

To address the toxic air that may already be wafting into residents’ spaces. T.e.j.a.s. and members of the Manchester community are working together to roll out an air quality monitoring app, giving them the vital information they can use to push hazardous facilities to clean up their act. T.e.j.a.s. and many community members are also supporting the Toxic Alert Bill, which would set up an emergency alert system for residences near chemical plants in the case of a spill or an explosion.

“Communities are taking their narrative into their own hands,” Roberts said. “They’re speaking for themselves and being supported by environmental justice collectives that can help them get what it is that they actually want and need for their community.”

According to Arellano, in the current fight over hydrogen cyanide emissions, Valero might seek an exception so that they do not have to report that they’re even emitting the chemical. Manchester residents are now calling for more information in order to keep refineries, as well as chemical and storage facilities, accountable. Arellano says that though some residents want to leave the community, others simply want the plants to close.

“The residents were here first,” Arellano said. “This is their community.”

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Fuming residents are fighting back against a neighboring oil refinery

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Human Universe – Professor Brian Cox & Andrew Cohen

by Myrna Posted on April 11, 2018

READ GREEN WITH E-BOOKS

Human Universe

Professor Brian Cox & Andrew Cohen

Genre: Science & Nature

Price: $2.99

Publish Date: May 7, 2015

Publisher: William Collins

Seller: HarperCollins


Top ten Sunday Times Bestseller ‘Engaging, ambitious and creative’ Guardian Where are we? Are we alone? Who are we? Why are we here? What is our future? Human Universe tackles some of the greatest questions that humans have asked to try and understand the very nature of ourselves and the Universe in which we live. Through the endless leaps of human minds, it explores the extraordinary depth of our knowledge today and where our curiosity may lead us in the future. With groundbreaking insight it reveals how time, physics and chemistry came together to create a creature that can wonder at its own existence, blessed with an unquenchable thirst to discover not just where it came from, but how it can think, where it is going and if it is alone. Accompanies the acclaimed BBC TV series. Reviews Praise for Professor Brian Cox: ‘Cox’s romantic, lyrical approach to astrophysics all adds up to an experience that feels less like homework and more like having a story told to you. A really good story, too.’ Guardian ‘He bridges the gap between our childish sense of wonder and a rather more professional grasp of the scale of things.’ Independent ‘If you didn’t utter a wow watching the TV, you will while reading the book.’ The Times ‘In this book of the acclaimed BBC2 TV series, Professor Cox shows us the cosmos as we have never seen it before – a place full of the most bizarre and powerful natural phenomena.’ Sunday Express ‘Will entertain and delight … what a priceless gift that would be.’ Independent on Sunday About the author Professor Brian Cox, OBE is a particle physicist, a Royal Society research fellow, and a professor at the University of Manchester as well as researcher on one of the most ambitious experiments on Earth, the ATLAS experiment on the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland. He is best known to the public as a science broadcaster and presenter of the popular BBC Wonders trilogy. Andrew Cohen is Head of the BBC Science Unit and the Executive Producer of the BBC series Human Universe. He has been responsible for a wide range of science documentaries including Horizon, the Wonders trilogy and Stargazing Live. He is an honorary lecturer in Life Sciences at the University of Manchester and lives in London with his wife and three children.

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Human Universe – Professor Brian Cox & Andrew Cohen

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6 Reasons Why You Should Never Use VOC Paint Again

by FaustoLWHK Posted on March 21, 2016

You’re probably used to buying paint either by the brand name or by the color, like Benjamin Moore, or blue.

But when it comes to covering your walls and ceiling, there’s a much more important decision you should be making, and that has to do with the chemicals actually used to make the paint itself.

One of the most toxic is actually a group collectively referred to as “volatile organic compounds,” or VOCs.

VOCs are a large group of carbon-based chemicals that easily evaporate at room temperature, which makes them easy to inhale. One of the most common sources of VOCs in our homes is household paint. VOCs are used as solvents, or thinners, that work together with the resins that bind together all the ingredients of the paint and gets them to stick on the wall. In other words, they may improve performance and durability, explains DunnEdwards.com here.

However, the VOCs “off gas”into the air as the paint dries. Most people can smell high levels of some VOCS, though other VOCs have no odor. Odor does not indicate how dangerous the chemicals are, says the Minnesota Department of Health. Regardless of how badly they smell,many VOCs,which can include formaldehyde, acetone, benzene and perchloroethylene, canmake you sick in a variety of ways.

That’s why I’ve pulled together this list of 6 reasons why you should never use paint that contains VOCs again.

1) Worsen symptoms of asthma. If you already suffer from asthma, inhaling air contaminated with VOCs could trigger an asthmatic reaction. Scientists studied 400 toddlers and preschoolers and discovered that children who breathed in fumes from water-based paints and solvents are two to four times more likely to suffer allergies or asthma.

2) Create flu-like symptoms. Even if you don’t get asthma from breathing in paint fumes, you could experience runny nose, itchy eyes, joint pain and other symptoms that strongly resemble the flu.Solvents that evaporate into the air from the paint are inhaled, absorbed into the lungs and then into the blood stream. They can irritate the eyes, nose and throat and make you feel like you’ve contracted the flu.

3) Potentially cause cancer. Many chemicals in the VOC family are considered carcinogenic by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Professional painters have a 20 percent increased risk of contracting a range of cancers, especially lung cancer, says the World Health Organization.

4) Get dizzy and black out. Sometimes the chemicals that off-gas in VOC-laden paint are so overpowering, they cause people to get very dizzy and in extreme cases, black out. This could be particularly dangerous if you were at the top of a ladder, perhaps painting a ceiling, where you were inhaling paint fumes very close to the source.

5) Suffer infertility problems – A study from Sheffield and Manchester University suggested that men regularly exposed to chemicals in paint may be more prone to fertility problems. Painters and decorators are the primary victims. However, the researchers found a 250 percent increase in “risk of sperm motility” among men exposed to the chemicals widely used as solvents in water-based paints, which could give any guy pause about using paints that contain VOCs.

6) Get “painter’s dementia” – In addition to increased likelihood of getting lung cancer, painters can develop a neurological condition brought on by long-term exposure to paint solvents called “painter’s dementia.”

What You Can Use Instead

You could decide to forego paints that contain VOCs because it’s the right thing to do for your painter!

Increasingly, you can buy paint that contains no VOCs online and from stores that specialize in healthy green building supplies. Consumer Reports offers this helpful guide to VOC content to look for when you shop; if you’re a subscriber, you can see how they rate various no- or low-VOC paints that are available in the marketplace.

Most major brands, including Home Depot, Benjamin Moore and Pittsburgh Paints, make a no-VOC option. Just be careful when the paint is mixed, as the base paint could be no-VOC but the color pigment could contain VOCs. You want the entire mixture to be no-VOC.

Water-based paints will have less VOCs in them than oil-based paints. However, there’s no guarantee that just because a paint is water-based that it will be VOC-free. You must explicitly ask for no-VOC paint before you buy.

Regardless of the paint you use, make sure the room or house is well-ventilated while it is being painted. Turn on fans and open windows and doors. If possible, do not sleep in a room that has been freshly painted; especially don’t sleep in or use a room if the paint on the walls isn’t completely dry. If you wake up with a headache or discomfort, do not sleep in the room for a couple of days, until you’re sure it’s fragrance-free.

Related
Feng Shui Paint Color Guide
Heavy Metal Toxicity and Your Health

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

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6 Reasons Why You Should Never Use VOC Paint Again

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Someone Is Trying to Freak Out New Hampshire’s Undecided Voters

by JeannetteDme Posted on February 8, 2016

Mother Jones

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Some voters in New Hampshire opened their mailboxes today to find an envelope stamped in red with “important taxpayer information enclosed.” Inside was a letter featuring an official-looking seal that listed not only the recipients’ voting records, but those of their neighbors.

“WHAT IF YOUR FRIENDS, YOUR NEIGHBORS, AND YOUR COMMUNITY KNEW WHETHER YOU VOTED?” the mailer asked. “We’re sending this mailing to you, some of your friends, neighbors, colleagues at work and community members to make them aware of who does and does not vote.”

A mailer circulated to New Hampshire voters today by a mysterious group

The mailer listed the recipient’s name, his or her record of voting in the last few elections, and the names, addresses, and voting records of nine neighbors. Mother Jones was shown two copies of the mailer, one sent to a registered independent voter in Manchester and the other to a registered Democrat; complaints about this mailer began popping up on the internet this afternoon.

The mailer is very similar to one circulated by Ted Cruz’s campaign to undecided Iowa voters just days before the caucuses. Cruz’s controversial mailer warned of “voting violations” and listed what it said was the voting records of the recipient and his or her neighbors, although the voting data appeared to be incorrect if not made up entirely. (At least one of the New Hampshire mailers featured false voting-record data, according to the recipient.)

Unlike the Iowa mailer, which prominently listed the Cruz campaign as its source, there is no indication who sent the New Hampshire letter. In small print at the bottom of the letter a disclaimer notes that it is “Paid for by Public Policy Matters,” a group that has no obvious web presence. If the New Hampshire mailers are not from Cruz, it’s possible that someone wants to remind New Hampshire’s coveted independent voters of Cruz’s Iowa stunt.

Update: Ted Cruz’s spokesman, Rick Tyler, told Mother Jones that the Cruz campaign did not send the mailers. “All of our mail has a Paid for by Cruz for President disclaimer. Not ours,” Tyler emailed.

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Someone Is Trying to Freak Out New Hampshire’s Undecided Voters

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Donald Trump Can’t Stop Trash-Talking Jeb Bush

by Hildred8078 Posted on February 8, 2016

Mother Jones

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Has Jeb Bush finally gotten under Donald Trump’s skin? During a town hall this morning in Salem, New Hampshire, the real estate mogul and GOP front-runner spent an unusual amount of time trashing Bush, who is polling near the back of the pack heading into Tuesday’s primary, calling him a “lightweight,” “not a smart man,” “stiff,” and a “spoiled child.”

Throughout the campaign, Trump has relished in needling Bush, portraying him as a weak momma’s boy who would struggle to find a job outside of government. But his Bush-bashing has escalated on the eve of the primary, in which most polls suggest Trump is going to crush his competition by a sizable margin.

Does Trump have reason to think Bush is poised to do better than expected in New Hampshire and perhaps claw his way back into the race? Or does he just take special pleasure in belittling his struggling rival?

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Donald Trump Can’t Stop Trash-Talking Jeb Bush

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Let Us All Take a Random Walk Through New Hampshire

by FredaCulver Posted on February 6, 2016

Mother Jones

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I’m feeling a little bored, and that means all of you have to listen to me regaling you with a bunch of random political tweets from my timeline. This is, truly, the best way of getting a real feel for the campaign trail from afar. First up is Donald Trump, who canceled an event today because airports were closed in New Hampshire:

Apparently so. CNN reports that Trump’s operator at LaGuardia was open for business, and the operator in Manchester says it is “always open for business, 24 hours a day.” And even if Trump did have airport trouble, it was only because he insists on going home to New York every night. Apparently the man of the people just can’t stand the thought of spending a few nights at a local Hilton.

This whole thing cracks me up because of Trump’s insistence that he’s a “high energy” guy. But he can’t handle a real campaign, the kind where you spend weeks at a time on the road doing four or five events a day. He flies in for a speech every few days and thinks he’s showing real fortitude. He’d probably drop from exhaustion if he followed the same schedule as Hillary Clinton or Jeb Bush.

Next up is Marco Rubio:

This is what makes it hard for me to figure out Rubio’s appeal. To me he seems like a robot: he’s memorized a whole bunch of virtual index cards, and whenever you ask a question he performs a database search and recites whatever comes up. The index cards aren’t bad, mind you, and I suppose they allow him to emulate a dumb person’s notion what a smart person sounds like. This is despite the fact that he normally talks with the same kind of hurried clip employed by nervous eighth graders reading off actual index cards.

Of course, this is just a specific example of a more general problem. Every four years, it looks to me like none of the Republican candidates can win. They all seem to have too many obvious problems. But of course someone has to win. So sure, Rubio reminds me of an over-ambitious teacher’s pet running for student council president, but compared to Trump or Carson or Cruz or Fiorina or Christie—well, I guess I can see how he might look good.

And now for some old-school Hillary Clinton hate:

Well, I’ll be happy to credit the Intercept, but I can hardly say it reflects well on them. This is yet another example of hCDS—Hillary Clinton Derangement Syndrome.1 I mean, has any candidate for any office ever been asked for transcripts of their paid speeches? This is Calvinball squared. Besides we all know the real reason Hillary doesn’t want to release the transcripts: she gave the same canned speech to everyone and happily pocketed an easy $200 grand for each one. Hell, who wouldn’t do that? Plus there’s the obvious fact that the hCDS crowd would trawl through every word and find at least one thing they could take out of context and make into a three-day outrage. Hillary would have to be nuts to give in to this.

Who’s next? How about Ted Cruz?

Cruz really pissed off Ben Carson in Iowa, just like he seems to piss off nearly everyone who actually gets a whiff of him up close. This is bad for Cruz because he’s trying to appeal to evangelical voters. Unfortunately, Carson has apparently decided that as long as he’s going to lose, he might as well mount a kamikaze attack against Cruz on the way down. And evangelicals listen to Carson. If he says Cruz bears false witness, then he bears false witness.

Finally, some good news for Bernie Sanders:

As it turns out, the Quinnipiac poll is probably bogus. Sam Wang points out that the median post-Iowa bounce was +6 percent in New Hampshire and +4 nationally—in Hillary’s favor. So everyone should take a deep breath.

Still, the big Bernie bounce is what people were talking about today, and it will contribute to an irresistible media narrative. And let’s face it: Hillary Clinton has never been a natural politician. Most Democrats like her, but they don’t love her, and this makes Sanders dangerous. What’s more, since Clinton already has a record for blowing a seemingly insurmountable lead to a charismatic opponent, he’s doubly dangerous. If Democrats convince themselves that they don’t have to vote for Clinton, they just might not. She has lots of baggage, after all.

Is this fair? No. It’s politics. But Clinton still has more money, more endorsements, more superdelegates, more state operations, and—let’s be fair here—a pretty long track record as a sincerely liberal Democrat who works hard to implement good policies. Sanders may damage her, but she’s almost certain to still win.

And that’s that. Isn’t Twitter great? It’s practically like being there. I can almost feel my shoes crunching on the snow drifts.

1This is a good example of a retronym. At first, we just had CDS. But then Hillary ran for president, so we had to make up a new term for insane Bill hatred: bCDS. And that, of course, means we also need hCDS. It’s like brick-and-mortar store or manual transmission.

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Let Us All Take a Random Walk Through New Hampshire

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Why Libertarians Are (Still) Plotting to Take Over New Hampshire

by Selina R. Pinkstaff Posted on February 1, 2016

Mother Jones

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On February 18, hundreds of libertarians will flock to the Radisson Hotel in Manchester, New Hampshire, for the ninth annual Liberty Forum, a four-day conference featuring presentations on topics such as religious freedom, school choice, and “Anarchy: Dressing for Success.” A big draw will be Edward Snowden’s keynote speech, delivered over a live video stream. As the exiled NSA whistleblower speaks, conference goers may mull their own flight from government oppression—not to Russia, but to the haven of New Hampshire.

The Free State Project, which runs the Liberty Forum, has spent 15 years trying to recruit 20,000 libertarian-minded activists to take up residence in the Granite State. By accruing a critical mass of small-government advocates in a state with just 1.3 million people, the project seeks to exert substantial influence on state politics to create a utopia of social liberties and deregulated markets. Those who sign the Free State pledge promise to make the move to New Hampshire once 20,000 participants have signed up. Now, with 19,858 signers, the project’s organizers say they are finally recruiting the last of those volunteers.

However, the organizers readily admit they don’t know how many of the would-be Free Staters will actually come to New Hampshire. “That is the million-dollar question,” says Free State Project president Carla Gericke. “It’s all speculative at this stage.” The most fervent believers are likely already in the state. Free State Project founder Jason Sorens says he expects around a third of the remaining signers to move. The group plans to track down those who may have forgotten and nudge them with direct mail, phone calls, and email reminders about their commitment.

Sorens first published his idea for the Free State Project in 2001, when he was a PhD student in Yale’s political science department. In an article in the Libertarian Enterprise webzine, Soren fantasized about a place where state and local budgets would be slashed and federal highway funds would be rejected. By 2003, a community of several thousand Free State Project pledgers had coalesced online and were debating the relative merits of colonizing Idaho, Wyoming, or Alaska. Then a delegation met with then-New Hampshire Gov. Craig Benson, a Republican, who told them, “Come on up. We’d love to have you.”

Since then, 1,909 early movers have settled in New Hampshire, according to organizers. They have started a church, installed Bitcoin ATMs, and protested against an Uber ban. One Free Stater became a school board chairwoman, then used tax money to pay private school tuition for kids in her district. Free Staters in Grafton tried to declare their no-stoplight town a United Nations-free zone. In Keene, libertarian transplants upset old-timers by videotaping and challenging parking officers enforcing “the king’s tariff.”

Influencing state policy remains a major goal for many participants. According to the project, it’s gotten more than 40 “pro-liberty” legislators elected. At least 18 early movers currently hold seats in the State House. The New Hampshire Liberty Alliance, a tea party-aligned nonprofit Soren says was “founded by native libertarians in expectation that the Free State Project would be coming,” has become a force in state politics.

Still, it only became obvious recently that the project would hit its 20,000-pledge trigger. Last fall, after years of standing around conferences with clipboards and taking out advertisements in Reason magazine, the project’s organizers turned to Facebook. More than 2,500 new participants signed on during a four-month ad campaign targeting users who “liked” pages for Bitcoin, “voluntarism,” and George Carlin. In recent weeks, the group has ramped up its Facebook ad spending to $500 a day. Nearly 20 early movers have been arriving in New Hampshire each month—even in winter. “I really hope we can build something that’s historic,” Gericke says. “People are coming.”

That’s good news for Mark Warden, owner and lead agent at Porcupine Real Estate in Manchester, which does around 90 percent of its business with early movers. (Libertarians have adopted the porcupine, a peaceful creature that defends itself when attacked, as their mascot.) “A lot of my clients want to be self-sufficient—whether that’s living off the grid and growing their own food, wanting to shoot and hunt on their own property, or being able tor raise pigs and chickens without zoning laws interfering,” says Warden, who shows his properties with a gun on his hip. “We speak the same language.”

Warden also offers advice to aspiring politicians, setting them up in towns where they would have a chance of winning over voters. Warden is a former state legislator whose old campaign website touts an A+ rating from the Koch-backed Americans for Prosperity. He once argued for decriminalizing simple assault during a committee hearing, later apologizing for claiming that some people may “like being in abusive relationships”.

Some future Free Staters say they’re drawn by the free-market business opportunities. Nelson Aquino, a Boston-based sales executive, plans to move in a matter of weeks. Aquino says he’s looking for a community that understands his opposition to police violence and torture, and he also plans to invest: “The people who are willing to make that type of pledge are people who believe in personal responsibility, people who believe in contracts, people who follow through on their word,” he says. “Those are the people I want to do business with.”

John Bush, who tried to start a Texas version of the project called Lone Star Libertopia, intends to open a New Hampshire branch of his Austin-based bookstore, which sells volumes on homesteading and crypto-anarchism alongside nutritional supplements and water filtration systems. “We intend to build some wealth—properties and wealth,” Bush says. “The early movers are what making it all so sexy and attractive.”

Nineteen-year-old Bradley Hunt, who signed the pledge about a year ago, says he was was bummed out when he heard the project was reaching its target—he’d wanted to be an early mover. He’s unhappy living in Michigan but doesn’t have enough savings to pick up and go. In the meantime, he volunteers for the local Libertarian Party, joins jury nullification protests, and tries to boycott the US dollar. He envisions himself and his girlfriend buying a little property in the northern end of New Hampshire in two or three years.

“The only thing I can see stopping me from moving is if I go to jail for my activism or if I get in a car accident or die or something,” he says. In the Free State, “I would have to start over again—but I’m okay with that.”

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Why Libertarians Are (Still) Plotting to Take Over New Hampshire

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Trump Is Going to Raise Taxes on the Rich!

by RoseMyres0634 Posted on January 28, 2016

Mother Jones

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I’m not a fan of New York magazine’s “conversations” with 100 Republican voters in Iowa and New Hampshire. I suspect that its sample is skewed; its conversations are skewed; and that pulling out just the juicy quotes from longer interviews makes it even more skewed. And all of these skew in the same direction: to make Republican voters look angry, dumb, and ignorant. I very much doubt that it provides a remotely accurate picture of how the average conservative in Iowa and New Hampshire really feels about life.

That said, I can be just as suckered by an eccentric quote as the next guy. Here is Nicole Martin of Manchester, New Hampshire:

Trump is bold, and he says what’s on his mind, but I feel like he wouldn’t have gotten as far as he has in business if he wasn’t a good negotiator. At our office, we plugged his tax plan into our software, to see, and it’s genius. We couldn’t believe it. It’s still a little higher taxes for people that are wealthy, but it’s not going to hurt them. And it’s going to save a lot of the smaller people a lot of money. They need it. He’s just not going to tax them. It makes sense.

I really want to know more about this. They “plugged” Trump’s tax plan into their “software”? What software is that? And how does it tell them that Trump’s plan means “a little higher” taxes on the rich? On average, Trump’s plan would cut taxes on the rich by more than a million dollars.

Oh well. He’s going to make America great again. What else do you need to know?

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Trump Is Going to Raise Taxes on the Rich!

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Fossil fuels are terrible investments, says top energy economist

by AbelMESLimmugw Posted on July 9, 2015

Fossil fuels are terrible investments, says top energy economist

By on 9 Jul 2015commentsShare

A lot of things are better when tapped at the source. Spring water. Maple syrup. Apple advice from the Genius Bar. So when the chief economist at the International Energy Agency warns that you might be making a bad energy investment, it’s worth listening up.

Speaking in Paris today at the largest climate conference before December’s flagship U.N. climate negotiations, Fatih Birol, also the agency’s incoming executive director, dealt some strong words to energy companies and groups invested in fossil fuels. In a nutshell: As climate policies change, fossil fuel investments are likely to tank.

The Guardian reports:

“Any energy company in the world, whatever they do – oil, gas, renewables, efficiency, coal – climate policies will impact their business,” said Birol. “So in order not to make the wrong investment decisions, in terms of making the investment decisions which may not bring the right returns, or in terms of missing investment opportunities, businesses may need to take climate policies and the impact for their businesses more seriously. Without solving the carbon [emissions] in the energy sector, we have no chance to solve the climate change problem.”

The World Bank and Bank of England have already warned of the serious risk climate action poses to trillions of dollars of fossil fuel investments and the G20 is investigating the risks. The think-tank Carbon Tracker has estimated that over $1tn (£0.6tn) of oil investments and $280bn of gas investments would be left uneconomic if the world’s governments succeed in their pledge to limit global warming to 2C.

Also known as stranded assets, these uneconomic investments arise when demand and price drop at the same time — exactly the effect predicted for fossil fuels as the world transitions to a low-carbon economy and regulatory environment.

The business case for fossil fuel divestment and clean energy and infrastructure investment has been made most recently by groups and publications like the New Climate Economy report, Risky Business (convened by billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer, former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson), and the We Mean Business coalition. You wouldn’t invest in compact discs after witnessing the rise of the iPod, the argument goes. Why invest in fossil fuels when we’re on the edge of a clean energy revolution?

More, from The Guardian:

Professor Frank Geels, from the University of Manchester, told the Paris conference that many technological transitions involve “creative destruction”, with new businesses replacing old ones.

“But we have not focused enough on the destruction part. The fossil fuel companies are some of the most powerful companies in the world and it is going to be very difficult to persuade them to keep it in the ground, but not impossible,” he said. “In many transitions you need to compensate the losers, or they will fight tooth and nail.” Geels cited the example of the Dutch government paying for workers in closing coal mines to be retrained.

Persuasion, compensation, destruction. It’s true that turning the tide is no easy task, but as fossil fuel divestment momentum builds, it will only get easier.

And on the off-chance that you were hinting at creative destruction in “Wrecking Ball,” here’s to you, Miley.

Source:
Fossil fuel firms risk wasting billions by ignoring climate change, says IEA

, The Guardian.

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Fossil fuels are terrible investments, says top energy economist

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Does America Finally Have World Cup Fever?

by EddieStreeton Posted on July 2, 2014

Mother Jones

I’ve been reading a lot of articles about how this year’s World Cup is a lot more popular in America than any previous World Cup. I’ve also read several backlash pieces debunking the idea that we’re all about to go soccer mad. I’m not sure which to believe.

But there really does seem to be something different this year. I’ve personally watched all or most of the World Cup games so far, and I’m pretty sure that in past years I’ve hardly watched any. Why? Beats me. I’m not really any more interested in soccer than I’ve ever been.

Or am I? As kind of a joke, I started rooting for Manchester United back in 2008 because they were sponsored by AIG. After the US government basically took over AIG, I figured that meant Man U was America’s team. But joke though it may have been, over the last few years I have indeed found myself checking the Premier League standings periodically and even watching the odd match when it appears on American TV. Perhaps that’s primed me to look forward to the World Cup.

Or maybe it’s just time zones. This is the first World Cup since 1994 that Americans could watch live at a reasonable hour. And we all know that being able to watch live is critical to sports viewership.1 So maybe that’s all it is.

How about you? Have you been watching more World Cup than usual this year? Why? Is it because you care more about soccer than you used to? Or something else?

1Except for the Olympics, for some reason.

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Does America Finally Have World Cup Fever?

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