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Making Molehills out of Mountains | 25 comments (25 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: Making Molehills out of Mountains (none / 1)

At least in Kentucky, the last I heard, they remove the mountains away from the Interstates, so people passing through don't see it. Slimy bastards.

Devilstower,is it true that most of the coal companies are actually owned by major oil companies? I heard this once, but don't know if it's still the case (or ever was).

"You can measure the moral character of individuals and institutions by the way they treat defenseless persons. " -- Henlee Barnette

by coffee cup on Fri Jun 10th, 2005 at 07:41:43 AM EST

Not any more (4.00 / 3)

Most of the oil companies made big "coal plays" back in the day, but the "corporate philosophy" needed for the two activities was more different than most of the companies involved would have believed, and most all the oil companies have dropped their coal sections. Basically, coal is less risky along the "where are the reserves" axis, but it's extremely capital intensive. The machines (which are of a size you can't even comprehend unless you get close to one) are fabulously expensive, and the returns on a ton of coal are negligble. You make up for it with volume, volume, volume, and collect some change on each ton. With oil, your costs are at the exploration end. Once you're producing (and assuming market prices are high), you have your own private mint. Oil companies tend to be highly technocratic companies where geology and IT play huge roles. Coal companies tend to be more centered around equipment maintenance and careful resource management to keep costs as low as possible. Managing coal companies like oil companies didn't work well for anyone.

The two largest coal companies in the world are both headquartered in St. Louis. Peabody Energy is by far the biggest. Arch Mineral is it's closest (though not very close) rival. Both of these companies have significant reserves in the Powder River Basin and have had banner years with high energy prices since 2001. The next few companies include Kennecott (now part of the international mining company Rio Tinto), CONSOL, and Massey Energy. CONSOL and Massey are both big players in the Appalachian region (Peabody and Arch have reserves there, as well). If I had to single out one company as the black sheep of the whole industry (which is not to say that they all haven't been guilty of some spectacular idiocy), it would be Massey. There's a good reason why Massey grows protests almost as fast as it mines coal. I've never seen a company that so blatantly disregards both safety and environmental regulations, and which so openly buys political favor. These guys are so bold, you have to kind of admire them -- in a sick, sociopathic sort of way.

by Devilstower (devilstower@gmail.com) on Fri Jun 10th, 2005 at 08:20:12 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Peabody (4.00 / 3)

Some lyrics from a 1971 song by John Prine, "Paradise."

Then the coal company came, with the world's largest shovel,
And they tortured the timber and stripped all the land.
Well, they dug for their coal till the land was forsaken.
Then they wrote it all down as the progress of man.

And Daddy won't you take me back to Muhlenberg county,
Down by the Green River, where Paradise lay.
"Well I'm sorry, my son, but you're too late in askin'."
"Mr. Peabody's coal train has hauled it away."

There are LIVES in the balance. Click here. Watch. Listen.

by cotterperson on Fri Jun 10th, 2005 at 08:52:47 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Not any more (none / 0)

Thanks for the info. It's not surprising that these companies are based outside of WV is it? How much $ did Massey and Peobody give to Bush's re-election, I wonder?

I have so much respect for the humble people who are trying to fight mountaintop removal. Many are just people who have lived in those communities for generations -- a truly wonderful grassroots effort.

Does WV have those stupid laws that permit companies ownership and rights to land below the surface -- even though individuals have deeds to property on top? (Or, is that a different type of mining)? Do the companies just own the whole mountain, lock, stock and barrel? Can state laws help curtail some of this mining, or are they in cahoots? Too many questions, I know.

Again, great diary

"You can measure the moral character of individuals and institutions by the way they treat defenseless persons. " -- Henlee Barnette

by coffee cup on Fri Jun 10th, 2005 at 10:24:44 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Digging in for a fight (none / 0)

Don't know about WV, but here in CO there is a controversy along exactly these same lines, involving natural gas drilling rather than coal. There are places and circumstances where mineral (underground) property rights trump "surface" rights -- which has a lot of ordinary people frustrated.

Environmentalist dinosaurs worried about the new iridium-enriched reactors. "If they blow," they said, "only cockroaches and mammals will survive..."

by ColoRambler (colorambler ay tee yahoo dee oh tee com) on Fri Jun 10th, 2005 at 06:42:08 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Making Molehills out of Mountains | 25 comments (25 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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