Coal Magnate Says Obama Waging War on All Fossil Fuels

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Obamas War On Fossil FuelsWhile MDN has long commented that while natural gas burns cleaner than coal and oil, we are by no means against other forms of fossil fuels. We have not fallen pray to the temptation to “pile on” coal and oil as inferior forms of energy in a vain attempt to prop up natural gas. Why? Because we know how liberals like Obama and the Democrats think. Once they are through destroying coal, they’ll come for natural gas and attempt to destroy it as well. That is now happening. As Robert Murray, chairman and CEO of Murray Energy Corp (big coal company) says, all forms of fossil fuels are under attack by the Obama administration. Murray also points out those who support natural gas and have supported Obama’s rhetoric against coal should not be surprised they have been betrayed by Obama and now are, themselves, a target for elimination. As Murray rightly says, affordable, reliable electricity in America is being destroyed by Big Green groups like the odious Sierra Clubbers…

While coal industry officials ponder how to cope with the Clean Power Plan’s mandatory 32 percent reductions by the year 2030 for CO2 pollution, oil and natural gas companies must now find a way to mitigate 45 percent of methane emissions by 2025.

The recent announcement of new regulations, however, was met with praise from environmental groups such as the Sierra Club.

“Continued reliance on dirty fossil fuels is a dangerous course for our communities and our climate. We must move swiftly to truly clean energy like wind, solar and energy efficiency while establishing policies that keep fossil fuels in the ground,” Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune said last week upon the Environmental Protection Agency’s unveiling of the methane regulations.

“We’re encouraged that the Obama administration is beginning to ask the oil and gas industry to bear the burden of its pollution. These rules pave the way for the administration to move swiftly to curb emissions from existing sources,” Brune added.

Robert E. Murray, chairman and CEO of Murray Energy Corp., often has criticized the relationship some natural gas companies had with environmental groups that attacked coal. He is not surprised to see the EPA now also target oil and natural gas drillers.

“There is no question that President Barack H. Obama, his Democrat supporters and his appointed bureaucrats want to eliminate the use of all fossil fuels. We have maintained that, while the Obama administration has targeted the use of coal for first destruction and termination, natural gas interests, who have often supported the Obama administration’s anti-coal policies, would be next for elimination,” Murray said.

“What is happening here is the destruction of available, reliable and affordable electricity in America,” he added.

Attack on Natural Gas

Recently, the EPA determined fracking did not create “widespread” water problems. However, the restrictions on methane – a greenhouse gas rated at 25 times more potent at trapping heat in the atmosphere than CO2 – unnecessary.

“As I understand things, the industry has already cut methane emissions in recent years, and emissions are declining. Unless you live under a rock, it is clear that we have an abundant supply of inexpensive, clean natural gas. Most of the recent studies have indicated that methane emissions are not significant and certainly not a problem,” R. Dennis Xander, past president of the Independent Oil and Gas Association of West Virginia, said.

“We hear 45 percent today. What if that can be achieved? Will the administration raise the bar again?” Xander added.

The Heartland Institute is a 31-year-old free-market think tank based in Chicago. Heartland research fellow Isaac Orr said the specifics of the plan remain unclear.

“If this rule were such a slam dunk for the climate, why hasn’t the administration told the public how much potential future warming would be mitigated by these regulations?” he said. “The fact of the matter is, these regulations will drive up costs for consumers and energy producers, but yield no tangible climate benefit.”

“While methane is indeed a greenhouse gas, it has no measurable impact on Earth’s temperature regardless of its capacity to capture a great deal more heat than carbon dioxide because of its insignificant quantity in the scheme of things,” Heartland Science Director Jay Lehr said.*

Click the link below to read the full article, including a section on Obama’s war on coal.

*Wheeling (WV) The Intelligencer/Wheeling News-Register (Aug 23, 2015) – Robert Murray: All Forms of Fossil Fuels Under Attack

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