Month: October 2012

Here’s an excellent article from the Washington Post about the rising cost of mining coal. This rising cost accounts for its declining use. The costs are rising largely because the coal that is the easiest to get was mined first, and now what is left is more difficult, and expensive, to obtain.
Cost of mining coal.

According to Marie Shmaruk, a director at Standard & Poor’s who analyzes metals and mining companies: “We have been relatively negative on central Appalachia for quite some time because it’s an expensive area to mine,” she said. “It’s been mined out and has thinning coal seams. We’ve been mining there forever.”

Shmaruk said that “central Appalachia is being squeezed the most. At natural gas prices today, the coal in a lot of those mines is not really competitive. And you’re seeing a lot of the utilities in that area have moved to natural gas.”

If there is a war on coal, the opponent is low cost natural gas, not environmentalists.

Here’s an excellent article from the Washington Post about the rising cost of mining coal. This rising cost accounts for its declining use. The costs are rising largely because the coal that is the easiest to get was mined first, and now what is left is more difficult, and expensive, to obtain.
Cost of mining coal.

According to Marie Shmaruk, a director at Standard & Poor’s who analyzes metals and mining companies: “We have been relatively negative on central Appalachia for quite some time because it’s an expensive area to mine,” she said. “It’s been mined out and has thinning coal seams. We’ve been mining there forever.”

Shmaruk said that “central Appalachia is being squeezed the most. At natural gas prices today, the coal in a lot of those mines is not really competitive. And you’re seeing a lot of the utilities in that area have moved to natural gas.”

If there is a war on coal, the opponent is low cost natural gas, not environmentalists.

Here’s a great article putting both numbers and faces on the struggles of the American middle class over the last decade or so.

America’s Endangered Middle Class

An article in Salon summarizes the research from a new book, “Authoritarianism and Polarization in American Politics.”

Briefly, those who are disposed towards order and hierarchy tend to be Republicans, and those who tend to be adventurous and free thinkers tend to support Democrats.

Here’s the article. How your Personality Predicts Your Politics.

More on this later.

I don’t even understand how this is surprising. Apparently if you give women access to birth control there are fewer unintended pregnancies and therefor fewer abortions. That just seems to make sense, but apparently some people are surprised.

Here’s the story from the NBC web site:

Free Birth Control Cuts Abortion Rate

Here’s a link to a fascinating story and analysis on the growth of wealth at the top. The number that jumped out for me was that in 1982, just over 15 percent of the 400 wealthiest Americans made their fortune in manufacturing. Today is is just a bit below 4 percent.

Why the Rich Grow Richer

The article analyzes the changes in the tax code, and other government policy since the late 1970’s, and how it has altered wealth creation in America.