War on Energy

A DECEPTIVE CAMPAIGN AGAINST INDONESIAN COAL Recent reports on coal in South East Asia by NGOs including Greenpeace and WWF have blamed the industry for everything from human health issues to climate change and deforestation.1 NGOs claim that coal is the dirtiest of all mineral resources.2 They have argued that the industry is responsible for poor worker safety conditions and even human rights abuses. They have associated coal mining with land and water system degradation. They regularly claim that the burning of coal is the largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and they have blamed it for a list of other forms of air and land pollution.3 As a general rule, their claims are vague, based on flimsy evidence and are often completely untrue. In a recent report condemning the coal industry in Indonesia, Greenpeace argued that coal mining was primarily responsible for the destruction of forest cover in the Province of South Sumatra, where the NGO claimed there was little forest cover left.4 This claim runs counter to Indonesian Government figures that state the province has a total land area of 53,435 sq. km, of which almost 60 percent remains forested.5 Anti-coal arguments in Indonesia fail to address the vital contribution the industry has to economic growth and poverty alleviation in favor of an over dramatization of environmental issues to forward a global green agenda against affordable energy. They fail to consider the affect that a cessation of coal-generated power would have on the greater economy and the plight of the poor. Increased electricity prices would raise costs across the board. Health, education, food, water and industry would all be affected and the people that can least afford increased expenses would be hurt the most. INUIT PRACTICES & ENERGY DEVELOPMENT IN GREENLAND Greenpeace has been widely criticized for pushing their priorities on indigenous communities with little regard for their lifestyles, cultural norms or traditional practices. In Greenland, Greenpeace actively opposed mineral exploration, while attacking the traditional hunting practices of indigenous Inuit populations. In 2010 Cairn Energy found evidence of natural gas deposits indicating the potential existence of larger gas resources located in the arctic sea surrounding Greenland. Greenpeace sent their

activist ship, the Esperanza, which was involved in a standoff with the Danish navy at the site of an offshore rig. In an act of trespass, several Greenpeace activists scaled the rig in an attempt to hold up operations. Greenpeaces efforts were not welcome by the Greenlandic Government. The Prime Minister denounced Greenpeaces actions, claiming they were damaging the economy and ignoring Greenlands national environmental and safety regulations.6 Inuit community leaders acknowledged that the projects could transform the economy, lead to greater independence from Denmark and contribute to national development.7 While there, Greenpeace further alienated Inuit community by attacking their traditional practice of whale and seal hunting.8 Inuit communities have traditionally relied on these food sources, while hunting is regarded as an integral aspect of Inuit culture. Evidently, defense of indigenous subsistence practices are only defensible when they confirm Greenpeaces ideological position. THREATENING AMERICAS FUTURE ENERGY SECURITY TransCanadas proposed $7 billion Keystone XL Pipeline, spanning from the Province of Alberta to Texas, will enable the U.S. to receive an abundant, affordable and friendly supply of oil for many years. And government officials have recently conceded that headwinds in the United States may take their toll on growth. As a result, the Keystone XL Pipeline has now taken on added importance. Unfortunately, Greenpeace has taken to biased, flawed online advocacy and to the streets of Washington, DC to attempt to stop this project. In fact, Greenpeace USA Executive Director Phil Radford was even arrested outside of the White House during a Keystone XL protest. In addition, the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada has decided to protest and lobby against the deal, an agenda that could cost both countries billions in key investment. Despite protests from Greenpeace, other radical environmental groups and big labor unions, thankfully the State Department has decided to move ahead. Figures show that as many as 340,000 jobs could be created and bolster revenue to the government by $34 billion, solving challenges pertaining to jobs, fiscal health and energy security.

In particular, states such as Nebraska could see a major windfall with $150 million in new taxes and personal income soaring by as much as $300 million. As analysts warn of another recession in the U.S., the Keystone XL Pipeline has now become a project of utmost national importance. Greenpeaces shameless attacks against essential infrastructure projects like Keystone XL not only threaten Americas future energy security, but also jeopardize thousands of real, shovelready jobs and up to 20 billion of dollars of much-needed investment. CHAMPION OF COSTLY, JOB-KILLING AND OVER-ZEALOUS FEDERAL REGULATIONS As if most Americans were not already fed up with the dawdling pace of the nations economic recovery, the Obama administration is planning to raise the cost of electricity and threaten the reliability of our power grid. Come next month, the White House is prepared to release its final utility maximum achievable control technology (MACT) rule. This rule would require utilities to install over 600 scrubber units on power plants nationwide. It is a very costly process in a very uncertain business climate, sticking companies with a $10.9 billion price tag each year. And you know the presidents continued pledge to create jobs? Well, according to the New American, the Utility MACT Rule and other new environmental regulations are already putting thousands of employees jobs on the line. These types of regulations only serve to punish Americas primary engines of job creation: small businesses. But with Greens furious at the administration for retreating on new, onerous ozone rules recently, look for EPA to plow forward with this over-zealous rule. A better way forward for the administration, however, would be to embrace the bi-partisan Regulatory Accountability Act of 2011. This bill will make regulations smarter, more accountable and best of all reduce the economic burdens of costly and job-threatening regulations, such as skewed environmental mandates like utility MACT stemming from EPA.

Greenpeace Southeast Asia. (2010). Batubara Mematikan: The High Price of Cheap Coal. Page 3. Retrieved from http://www.greenpeace.org/seasia/PageFiles/164212/ENG-Batubaramematikan18Oct2010.pdf.
2

WWF. (2007). Coming Clean: The Truth and Future of Coal in Asia Pacific. Page 13-17.

Greenpeace Southeast Asia. (2010). Batubara Mematikan: The High Price of Cheap Coal. Page 8.
4

Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Germany (n.d.) Sumatra. Retrieved from http://www.indonesian-embassy.de/en/tourism/sumatra.htm.
5

Ibid.

Carrell, S. (2010, August 31). Greenlands prime minister lambasts Greenpeace for raiding Arctic oil rig. The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/aug/31/greenland-greenpeace-arctic-oil-rig
7

Greenland defends offshore drilling. (2010, June, 29). CBC News. Retrieved from http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/story/2010/06/29/inuit-greenland-drilling.html.
8

For example see, Greenpeace International. (2005). The Canadian seal hunt: No management and no plan. Retrieved from http://www.greenpeace.org/international/Global/international/planet-2/report/2005/9/canadianseal-hunt-no-managem.pdf.