A dog looks out as noxious fumes eminate from fissures in the ground in the village of Jina Gora on February 11, 2012 near Jharia, India. Villagers in India’s Eastern State of Jharkhand scavenge coal illegally from open-cast coal mines to earn a few dollars a day. Claiming that decades old underground burning coal seams threatened the homes of villagers, the government has recently relocated over 2300 families to towns like Belgaria. Villagers claim they were promised schools, hospitals and free utilities for two years, which they have not received. As the world’s power needs have increased, so has the total global production of coal, nearly doubling over the last 20 years according to the World Coal Association.
The energy poverty issue is being drawn into stark relief in India, where the government is pursuing an aggressive coal expansion strategy as it seeks to bring electricity to the over 300 million people without. The New York Times reports air quality in cities is worse than China, rising seas will impact the country disproportionately and mining the country’s low-quality coal is an environmental catastrophe. [New York Times]
To cut or not to cut? Opec members face tough choices as they seek to answer that question. A Goldman note points out that a supply cut that increased oil prices as intended would benefit the US producers largely to blame for current oversupply. “While the slide in prices into a bear market increases the chances of a reduction, trimming output by more than 500,000 barrels a day would mean further cuts are needed starting 2016 as higher prices prompt more U.S. drilling, Goldman said in a note yesterday. Some members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries including Saudi Arabia have resisted calls to decrease supply while others seek action to support crude.” [Bloomberg via Fuel Fix]
In case you missed it, the Senate is voting on a bill to construct the remaining portion of the Keystone XL pipeline today, which if it passes, will force President Obama to either approve or veto the highly controversial project. NPR provides a summary of the issue. [NPR]
