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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Wharf Rat who wrote (1072476)	6/7/2018 9:57:52 PM
From: Brumar89	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1574056

What an idiot! He can sound drunk without drinking.

To: Wharf Rat who wrote (1072476)	6/8/2018 4:57:40 AM
From: sylvester80	1 Recommendation Recommended By Heywood40 Respond to of 1574056

BREAKING..Coal industry documents show extent of effort to influence Trump on Paris accord, regulations Carolyn McAtee Cerbin USA TODAY Published 2:06 p.m. UTC Jun 7, 2018 eu.news-press.com Robert "Bob" Murray, founder and chairman of Cleveland-based Murray Energy Corp., arrives at a news conference at the entrance to the Crandall Canyon Mine, in northwest of Huntington, Utah. In the early days of the Trump administration, Murray, the head of one of America’s largest coal companies sent a four-page “action plan” to the White House calling for rollbacks of key environmental and mine safety regulations he claimed would help revive the struggling mining industry. A review by The Associated Press of that March 1, 2017, plan shows Murray, an early Trump campaign supporter, has gotten about half the items on his wish list. Still others, such as eliminating federal tax credits for wind turbines and solar panels, failed to win approval in Congress. Jae C. Hong, AP Bob Murray, CEO of Ohio-based Murray Energy, sent the Trump administration drafts of executive orders for withdrawing from the Paris climate accord, according to documents obtained by E&E News. All the president had to do was sign them. The orders also would have rolled back coal regulations established under the Obama administration that Murray thought were a burden to his industry, E&E News reported. There's no indication President Trump signed the orders and industry often gets involved with helping lawmakers and administrations write policy, but the documents released Wednesday reveal the extent of the energy CEO's efforts to get rid of environmental regulations on his industry. E&E News obtained the documents under the Freedom of Information Act. In a series of letters dated March 28, 2017, Murray sent Energy Secretary Rick Perry and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt orders to review and consider, E&E reported. That included language to exit the Paris accord. "President Trump should issue an executive order to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord, and/or to direct the relevant federal agencies that they shall not require coal-fired electric generators to take action to comply with the Accord," Murray wrote. The documents go on to look at FirstEnergy's efforts to influence Energy Department officials and reveal the role played by now-EPA Deputy Administrator Andrew Wheeler, who then worked as Murray's lobbyist. In January, the Associated Press looked at a March 1, 2017, memo addressed to Vice President Mike Pence in which Murray "listed our suggested actions in order of priority" and stated the energy executive stood "available to assist you and your administration in any way that you request." Murray, an early campaign supporter of Trump and major GOP political donor, has gotten about half the items on his 2017 wish list. They include pulling the United States out of the Paris climate accords and revoking the Clean Power Plan, Obama's signature effort to limit planet-warming emissions from coal-fired power plants. Under Trump, the Mine Safety and Health Administration has also moved to reconsider rules meant to protect miners from breathing coal and rock dust — the primary cause of black lung — and diesel exhaust, which can cause cancer. Other Murray priorities, such as eliminating federal tax credits for wind turbines and solar panels, have floundered, however. The renewable energy tax breaks were largely retained in the final Republican-drafted tax plan signed by Trump in December. And despite Trump's campaign pledges to put scores of coal miners back to work by ending what he and Murray have derided as Obama's "War on Coal," the administration's regulatory rollback has thus far had modest economic benefits. Only about 500 coal mining jobs were added in Trump's first year, bringing the total to about 50,900 nationally, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. The nation's utilities have also continued to shutter coal-fired plants in favor of those burning natural gas made cheaper and more abundant by new drilling technologies. "President Trump has done a wonderful job in addressing what is needed to improve the cost of electricity in America and to improve the reliability, security and resilience of the electric power grid," Murray told AP. "I give him very high marks." *Read the documents obtained by E&E News* here: More: RFK's visit to Appalachia, 50 years later: How Kennedy country became Trump country More: Trump urged to use Korean War-era law to provide relief for struggling coal, nuclear plants More: Coal mining deaths surge in 2017 after hitting record low More:** Climate Point: The American Energy Transition

To: Wharf Rat who wrote (1072476)	6/8/2018 4:59:40 AM
From: sylvester80	1 Recommendation Recommended By Heywood40 Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1574056

POS trump #1 KILLER of AMERICANS..Coal mining deaths surge in 2017 after hitting record low John Raby The Associated Press Published 1:33 p.m. UTC Jan 3, 2018 eu.usatoday.com Coal miners return on a buggy after working a shift underground at the Perkins Branch Coal Mine in Cumberland, Ky. David Goldman, AP CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Coal mining deaths surged in the U.S. in 2017, one year after they hit a record low. The nation’s coal mines recorded 15 deaths last year, including eight in West Virginia. Kentucky had two deaths, and there were one each in Alabama, Colorado, Montana, Pennsylvania and Wyoming. In 2016 there were eight U.S. coal mine deaths. West Virginia has led the nation in coal mining deaths in six of the past eight years. That includes 2010, when 29 miners were killed in an explosion at the Upper Big Branch mine in southern West Virginia. In September, President Trump appointed retired coal company executive David Zatezalo as the new chief of the Mine Safety and Health Administration. Most of the deaths this year occurred before his appointment. The Wheeling resident retired in 2014 as chairman of Rhino Resources. Zatezalo was narrowly approved by the Senate in November. His appointment was opposed by Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., who said he was not convinced Zatezalo was suited to oversee the federal agency that implements and enforces mine safety laws and standards. Last month the Trump administration brought up for review standards implemented by Barack Obama’s administration that lowered the allowable limits for miners’ exposure to coal dust. MSHA indicated it is reconsidering rules meant to protect underground miners from breathing coal and rock dust — the cause of black lung — and diesel exhaust, which can cause cancer. Eight coal mining deaths this year involved hauling vehicles and two others involved machinery. None were attributed to an explosion of gas or dust, which was to blame for the Upper Big Branch disaster. More: Coal miner who survived Sago disaster dies in W.Va. The number of coal mining fatalities was under 20 for the fourth straight year after reaching exactly 20 in 2011, 2012 and 2013. By comparison, in 1966, the mining industry counted 233 deaths. A century ago there were 2,226. MSHA has attributed low numbers in previous years to far fewer coal mining jobs and tougher enforcement of mining safety rules. Zatezalo, who said in October that his first priority was preventing people from getting hurt, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment left with MSHA on Tuesday. There have been 13 fatalities in 2017 in non-coal mines that produce gravel, sand, limestone and mineable metals. There also were 17 such deaths in 2015 and 30 in 2014. Appalachia has been especially hit hard by the closing of dozens of mines in recent years, but there was a turnaround in production in 2017. According to the Energy Information Administration’s weekly estimates, U.S. coal production increased 8.9% in the 52 weeks ending Dec. 23, the latest available. Production in West Virginia increased 16%, including 25% in coal-rich southern West Virginia. Wyoming, the top coal-producing state, saw a 10.7% increase and Pennsylvania had an 11.6% hike. There were about 92,000 working miners in the United States in 2011, compared with about 52,000 in 2016, the lowest figure since the Energy Information Administration began collecting data in 1978. The 2017 numbers are not yet available. More: Coal towns struggle for good mental health care