Peabody’s New PR Problem; Danville Update; Vanishing Coal Jobs

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• 10 November, 2014
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PEABODY ENERGY FINDS ITSELF IN A DEFENSIVE PUBLIC-RELATIONS posture after promoting coal as a salve to poverty.

SNL, for instance, has a piece up by Taylor Kuykendall in which it notes critics of Peabody and other coal producers “are sharply criticizing the campaign and questioning the industry’s sincerity.” The article calls special attention to a report by The Australia Institute in which the institute questions Peabody’s “Advance Energy for Life Campaign.”

The report argues that “Peabody’s only contribution to energy poverty is maintaining a website and social media page which promotes coal as the solution to the problem.”

The article notes also that the coal industry frequently cites “global energy poverty” in campaigns to ease regulations and that it is part of the core industry case for building more infrastructure for coal exports.

Excerpts:

• “The Australia Institute report aims to dismantle Peabody’s claims that coal demand is increasing rapidly, coal causes economic growth, coal use increases life expectancy, coal use improves quality of life and that coal is getting cleaner.”
• “The report’s rebuttal of those claims suggests Peabody has cherry-picked the most optimistic estimates for coal use, improperly drawn conclusions based on correlation versus causation, and otherwise inaccurately represented data in their campaign.”
• “The report also says that while it could not find direct financial support of global poverty initiatives on behalf of Peabody, it does note several noncoal projects being supported by players in the global coal sector.”

Here’s the full article.

THE DANVILLE (VA.) REGISTER & BEE HAS A LONG SUNDAY TAKE ON HOW TWO LOCAL OFFICIALS CONTINUE TO HOLD faith in Prairie State Energy Campus.

The article, by Denice Thibodeau, has City Manager Joe King and Danville Utilities Interim Director Jason Gray saying they continue to look past Prairie State’s poor performance.

It adds, however, that “not all investors in the project are as pleased,” citing in particular Paducah Power Systems in Paducah, Ky., where the city is reassessing its relationship with Prairie State, and making mention of Prairies State-related hardships for Marceline, Mo.

Excerpts:

•   “Marceline bought a larger share of power than it could consume, counting on the promise of a large manufacturing company relocating there.” 
• “But the recession struck and the manufacturer backed out, leaving Marceline facing a loss of $1.4 million in 2013 alone.”
•   ‘It almost broke us,’ recently-hired (Marceline) City Manager Richard Hoon said. ‘We were left paying a whole lot for a whole little.’

Here’s the full item.

A job fair in Hazard, KY

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS HAS A WIDELY CIRCULATED ACCOUNT PUBLISHED OVER THE WEEKEND of laid-off West Virginia coal miners finding few career alternatives.

The story, under the headline “As Coal Jobs Vanish, Miners Search for New Careers,” describes mostly through anecdote the difficulties facing former miners who live in an under-diversified economy.

It highlights outreach by a United Mine Works of America career center in Beckley and by the Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program, which has offices in dozens of locations. It notes, however, that job-retraining programs aren’t adequately supported.

Excerpts:

• “These free classes funded by federal money can only help a fraction of them.”
•  “Eastern Kentucky has lost a total of 8,000 coal jobs since 2009.”
• “There are jobs outside the coal mine. You might have to jump through some hoops and take some classes to get them. But you can find a new field.”

Here’s that full story.

— Karl Cates
kcates@ieefa.org
Twitter @ieefa_institute