WSJ's Third on the Series 'The Future of Coal'

choi

There is no need to read the rest of any of the three reports today, under the heading Future of Coal. I was wrong yesterday when I wrote in a posting that it was the second and last of tee series.

(1) Kris Maher, Mine Workers Union Shrinks But Boss Fights on. Wall Street Journal, Jan 9, 2014 (under the heading The Future of Coal).
online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB20001424052702303722104579242613487783226

Quote:

“In the 1930s, when vast numbers of miners were needed to load coal by hand, the [United] Mine Workers [of America; founded 1890] was the nation's biggest and most powerful union, with about 800,000 members. Today, the union has about 35,000 active members, 20,000 of whom are coal miners.

“It also is hard to see how the union can increase its membership as the coal industry shifts production from Appalachia, with its labor-intensive underground mines, to surface mines in Wyoming and Montana that employ far fewer workers. Today, the union represents about a third of the 60,000 hourly coal miners nationwide. But the Mine Workers estimates that if it were to organize all coal miners in Wyoming, where companies produce more than half the country's coal, the union would gain only 3,000 new members.

“The union plans to continue its fight [for survival, if not revival 中兴之道] and has one important resource to keep it going: about $180 million in cash and investments, far more than other unions on a per capita basis. ‘Most unions, when they see the struggles that we are [seeing], have very little money to fight,’ Mr [coalminer union’s longtime boss Cecil] Roberts says. ‘That's not true for us.’

My comment: The “boss” in the title refers to the union boss: one coalminers’ union, one boss. It it were coal-mining companies, there would be many “bosses.”

choi

(2) John W Miller, 燃煤清洁技术助美国中西部煤田东山再起. 华尔街日报中文版, Jan 9, 2014
cn.wsj.com/gb/20140109/bus103824.asp

, which is translated from

John W Miller, Coal Scrubbers Give Illinois Basin New Life. Wall Street Journal, Jan 9, 2014
online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB20001424052702303332904579228161981168296

Quote:

(a) “The unexpected comeback story in the US coal industry is the Illinois Basin.

“The area had been one of the four major US coal basins—along with Wyoming and Northern and Central Appalachia—but became less popular with the passage of the Clean Air Act in 1970. Illinois coal contains high amounts of sulfur, which contributes to acid rain.

“Now the spread of scrubbing technology, which can remove 97% of a coal-fired power plant's sulfur dioxide, has put Illinois coal back in play.

“As power plants installed scrubbers, coal companies reopened mines over the last decade. The state of Illinois was expected to produce 56 million tons of coal last year, up 70% from 2010, according to the Energy Information Administration.

(b) Illinois Basin “is near railroads, the Mississippi River and other transportation options, offering opportunities even for startups. * * * Only 6% of Illinois Basin miners belong to the United Mine Workers union, compared with 27% of workers in West Virginia.

Note:
(a)
(i) Powder River Basin
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powder_River_Basin
(“It is both a topographic drainage and geologic structural basin. The basin is so named because it is drained by the Powder River”)

* For Powder River, see the map in
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missouri_River
(Powder River, 375 miles long, is a tributary of the Yellowstone River. The latter (692 miles long) is, in turn, a tributary of the Missouri River. Missouri flows east and south for 2,341 miles before entering the Mississippi River north of St. Louis, Missouri. All gleaned from Wikipedia)
(ii) Evaluation of Impacts to Underground Sources of Drinking Water by Hydraulic Fracturing of Coalbed Methane Reservoirs. US Environmental Protection Agency, June 2004 (Number: EPA 816-R-04-003)
fracfocus.org/sites/default/files/publications/evaluation_of_impacts_to_underground_sources_of_drinking_water_by_hydraulic_fracturing_of_coalbed_methane_reservoirs.pdf
(table of contents: Attachment 5 The Powder River Basin; Attachment 6 The Central Appalachian Coal Basin; Attachment 7 The Northern Appalachian Coal Basin;
(A) Attachment 6 The Central Appalachian Coal Basin
(“The Central Appalachian Coal Basin is the middle basin of three basins that comprise the Appalachian Coal Region of the eastern United States. It includes parts of Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia (Figure A6-1 [at page A6-8, displayed at right lower corner, which is alternately page 388])“)

Wikipedia does not have a proper name for this one.
(B) Attachment 7 The Northern Appalachian Coal Basin.
(“The Northern Appalachian Coal Basin is the northernmost of the three basins comprising the Appalachian Coal Region of the eastern United States, and includes parts of the States of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, and Maryland (Figure A7-1 [at page A7-7, displayed at right lower corner, which is alternately page 405])”)

, which is identical to (compare maps in the two)

Pittsburgh coal seam
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pittsburgh_coal_seam
(“the thickest and most extensive coal bed in the Appalachian Basin; hence, it is the most economically important coal beds in the eastern United States”)

(b) The report does not explain scrubbing technology.

flue-gas desulfurization
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flue-gas_desulfurization

(c) "Sunrise Coal LLC was founded in 2002. The company * * * produces three million tons a year at a mine in Carlisle, Ind" sitting on Illinois Basin.
(i) Carlisle, Indiana
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlisle,_Indiana
(a town just south of City of Terre Haute [French for “highland”], Indiana)
(ii) French English dictionary
(A) terre (noun feminine; from Latin terra "earth"):
"1 earth, soil; 2 land, property"
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/terre
(B) haut (adj; feminine singular is “haute”): “high, tall”
(C) haut (noun masculine):”top”
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/haut

choi

(3) Alison Sider, 美国动力煤出口增加催热墨西哥湾港口投资. 华尔街日报中文版, Jan 9, 2014
cn.wsj.com/gb/20140109/bus182917.asp

, which is translated from

Alison Sider, Rising Exports of Midwest Steam Coal Set Gulf Coast Terminals Humming. Wall Street Journal, Jan 9, 2014
online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB20001424052702303559504579200311606048836

Quote:

“The US typically has been one of the top exporters of metallurgical coal, which is used to make steel, most of it mined in Appalachia and shipped from the East Coast. Now some people in the industry anticipate that the US will become an increasingly significant global supplier of steam coal, which is used to generate electricity. * * * Much US steam coal is mined in the Midwest, driving investment in coal-export facilities at Gulf of Mexico ports [specifically at Louisiana, where Mississippi river empties into the Gulf] to meet overseas demand.’

“Easy access to the Mississippi River will help make coal from Illinois the ‘export coal of choice" in a world market growing hungrier for steam coal, says United Bulk [Terminals, which operated terminals, or wharves] President Jan Vogel. The Port of New Orleans exported 17.6 million metric tons of steam coal in 2012, a sixfold increase over the low point in 2009, according to the US Commerce Department. The commodity, also known as thermal coal, mostly was shipped to Europe, but also sailed to South America and even as far as Asia [hopes are pinned on an expanded Panama Canal, due for next year].

“Pacific Northwest [is scrutinized], from which Wyoming coal could be shipped. * * * Unlike the Pacific Northwest, where proposed coal terminals have encountered stiff opposition and difficulty getting permits, ports such as New Orleans offer relatively unconstrained growth potential, says Stifel analyst Paul Forward.