http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/13/opinion/dont-sell-cheap-us-coal-to-asia.html?ref=economy
In this article from The New York Times, the issue of selling coal that is being subsidized to Asia is confronted. Cherry Point, near Seattle, Washington, is being used by corporations to build a terminal that will "export nearly 50 million metric tons of coal to Asia annually." The business will provide jobs, but at a cost. There would be an increase in pollution as a direct result and on a national level, there are problems because the land that the government is leasing to the corporations is valuable. The government is leasing out land for corporations that are not even seeking out the American buyer, but instead China, Japan, and Korea. These countries will be able to produce more with the increase in coal imports, but the U.S. benefits little because these corporations are giving so little back to the federal government. Taxpayers are losing out because the government is charging so little for the corporations to use valuable coal strips. The issue of pollution is also heated and an effort to use clean energy is strongly debated. Asia really wants any coal they can have and they do not care about the negative effects of pollution. The article thinks a good first step is "a moratorium on new coal leases."
I think two things on this subject. I believe that the government should not be leasing the land for corporations to mine coal so cheaply. The taxpayers are not being treated fairly in this way. The government is firstly leasing the land cheaply and they are spending tax dollars to subsidize the mining. This is not fair because the government is wasting money on a business that will not benefit U.S. citizens. Only the corporations will see any real profit from the coal. For these reasons I support the government making the cost for the corporations using federal lands for private use higher. Another issue that I feel strongly about is the pollution. I think that Asia needs to work on their pollution regulations because they are ruining air quality for everyone. Asia has to find clean energy and promote that more. The reduction of the burning coal would improve the issue of pollution that Asia finds itself in right now.
I think this will be another step to molding how businesses and governments work together. Neither side should cave to another and should have a firm position. They should compromise and be fair to each other or else there will be situations such as this one in which the corporations are getting the better deal. I think this will also affect future positions on pollution policies in government. If governments continue to disregard the effects of their decisions on the environment, they will run into some serious problems. I think that selling cheap coal to Asia needs to be fixed and a new solution should be found, for example increasing the cost of leases to use the federal land for coal mining.
How did they think giving the coal to countries in Asia was a good idea? The government should do something to help stop the increasing problem of pollution. Maybe make a negative incentive for using coal irresponsibly and polluting the world.
ReplyDeleteI think that the government has already run into several serious problems. Already, the pollution in Asia has gotten to a point where they have to wear dust masks when walking around, and the pollution is so bad that a sunset cannot be seen. So when the American government refrains from promoting disuse of the coal, they are really encouraging it.
ReplyDeleteIt is times like these where I wonder how a decision came to be. From a practical level, the U.S. loses out, so logically the decision should not have been carried through. The jobs could rather be supplied by the growth of individual businesses and a balancing of the economy. I agree that cleaner forms of energy should be used, but the sad truth is coal provides the majority of energy in the world, so it still must be used before technology is made more effective. Overall great post!
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