Subsidies for coal 'a cynical and dangerous move' - CJ

[groovedaddy]

Op-Ed From the Courier Journal - 8/14/07

Many Kentuckians now acknowledge that the mining and burning of coal is neither cheap nor clean. Increasingly, we understand that the true costs of coal are unacceptably high, especially in terms of the harm done to our mountains, streams, forests, health, global climate and political process.

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For the past two weeks, a group of lawmakers, many with close ties to the coal industry, has met behind closed doors to draft an energy bill containing numerous new tax-breaks for companies that build "coal-conversion" plants in Kentucky. These facilities would turn coal into diesel fuel or synthetic natural gas at enormous public expense and damage to our water, air and climate. These fuels produce twice the carbon dioxide pollution (a major contributor to global warming) as conventional fuels. A recent report by the Natural Resources Defense Council calculates that replacing just 10 percent of America's transportation fuels with liquid coal would increase mining in the U.S. by 43 percent.

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If anyone needs additional reasons to oppose the proposed subsidies, I suggest they look closely at the games being played with the coal severance tax. A bit of history is helpful here. The severance tax was established by the legislature in 1972 out of recognition that extracting coal, a finite resource, comes at a huge cost to the public. The proceeds from this tax were supposed to go back to coal-producing counties to help repair infrastructure and provide resources necessary to develop a diverse economy. Over the years, coalfield communities have received scant little of what was initially promised to them from this fund.

In recent years, the coal industry has been successful at recapturing severance tax dollars for its own benefit.

entire op-ed:
http://tinyurl.com/34uuor