Author Archives: Kelly Mitchell

2 days to stop 67 million tons of global warming pollution

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BNSF Coal Train in USA

There are only two days left in the first public comment period on a decision that determines whether 67 million tons of global warming pollution stays in the ground. 

The Department of the Interior (DOI) is about to let an Australian company called Ambre Energy dig up hundreds of acres of public lands to expand its West Decker Coal Mine in Montana. All for more of the dirtiest, most carbon-intensive fossil fuel on the planet.

The impact of this one mine is astonishing. Coal produced from the mine’s expansion would release as much carbon pollution as 14 million cars do in a year.

Ambre wants to keep these processes with the DOI quick, quiet and out of the public eye. But if we flood the DOI with public comments, we can shine a spotlight on this climate disaster to stop it from moving forward.

With only two days remaining before the first public comment period deadline, every comment counts. Make a comment now to keep millions of tons of coal in the ground where it belongs. Continue reading →

Sally Jewell can end the Department of Interior’s coal industry giveaways

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As the new Secretary of the Interior, Secretary Sally Jewel has an important opportunity to end the Department of the Interior’s (DOI) giveaways to the coal industry, which are unlocking enormous amounts of carbon pollution, wasting taxpayer dollars, and subsidizing the coal industry’s efforts to export publicly-owned coal to Asia.

A federal coal leasing program run by DOI’s Bureau of Land Management has resulted in almost $30 billion in government handouts to the coal industry. The giveaway happens through noncompetitive “auctions” where the Department sells the rights to publicly-owned coal for a fraction of what it’s worth. Continue reading →

Ambre’s new business strategy: when one boondoggle is failing, plan an even bigger boondoggle

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It has not been a good month to be an aspiring coal exporter in the Pacific Northwest. But fear not, export-proponent Ambre Energy has an even more absurd plan up its sleeves.

Ambre Energy is facing a five month delay on a state permit from Oregon’s Department of State Lands (DSL) for its Morrow Pacific Project. All three private investors, Mitsui, KEPCO, and Metro Ports, have backed out of the Coos Bay Project Mainstay export terminal. Governors Kitzhaber and Inslee wrote a letter to the White House urging “the CEQ in the strongest possible terms to undertake and complete a thorough examination of the greenhouse gas and other air quality effects of continued coal leasing and export before the U.S. and its partners make irretrievable long-term investments in expanding this trade. Continue reading →

Ambre Energy faces another setback in plans to export US coal

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Photo credit: Greg Sotir

Ambre Energy will need to wait another five months for a permit decision from Oregon’s Department of State Lands (DSL) on its proposed Morrow Pacific coal export terminal. After attempting to bully DSL into an approval and balking at the state’s request for more information on potential impacts, Ambre realized it was playing a losing hand. As Ambre’s lawyers state in a March 13th letter: Continue reading →

New video highlights Peabody, Arch, and Ambre’s plan to export coal and derail the climate

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For years, coal has been the dominant source of electricity in our country, spewing dangerous levels of pollution into our air and water.  But the world is changing. Communities are saying no to the smokestacks in their backyards, our federal government is moving forward with life-saving health and environmental standards, and renewable energy is growing fast  and providing safe, cost-competitive electricity. Continue reading →

Get the facts behind the Coal Conspiracy video

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Want to learn more about the details presented in our latest video? Check out this point by point breakdown below. And add your questions or reactions to our Facebook chat or the comments box below.

Continue reading →

US Coal Exports Could Push the Climate Past a Point of No Return

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There’s a new front line in the battle to prevent catastrophic climate change.

Companies like Arch, Ambre, and Peabody want to ship the coal buried under the United States to Asia, releasing disastrous amounts of carbon pollution, just to line their own pockets. This expansion in US coal exports could release more carbon pollution than any other new fossil fuel project in the United States, according to a new report Greenpeace released today.

In 2012, the reality of the climate crisis hit home for many Americans. Farmers throughout the Midwest lost crops to record-setting droughts and Hurricane Sandy wrecked havoc on the lives and livelihoods of millions of families on the East Coast. As we entered 2013, scientists confirmed that 2012 was the hottest on record, and that the potential for future devastation is more urgent and severe than previously thought. Continue reading →

Sec. Salazar: Suspend the Bureau of Land Management’s Corrupt Coal Auction

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This is not a "coal producing region" according to BLM's corrupt coal leasing program

Recently, Greenpeace Media Officer Joe Smyth has been covering the Bureau of Land Management’s corrupt coal leasing scheme in the Powder River Basin. For decades, BLM has been delivering massive subsidies to coal companies at the expense of the American public. Meanwhile, the Federal government is in the habit of underestimating coal prices and encouraging risky bets for utility companies.

If BLM and the Department of Interior do not put the brakes on the coal leasing process, a tract of taxpayer-owned land containing up to 721 million tons of coal will be given to Peabody this Thursday at an absurdly low, highly subsidized price. Once burned, that coal will produce more carbon pollution than the annual emissions of 230 million cars. Continue reading →