President Obama VS Ohio Coal Industry

(CNN) -- Amanda Sedgmer, mother of five and daughter of coal country, believes that in this presidential election, her way of life is at stake.

"If you ask anybody in the coal industry what would happen if Obama is re-elected, they'd say the coal industry is done," said Sedgmer, whose husband, Ryan, is a coal miner and whose family has depended on the industry for at least four generations.

Sedgmer lives in Hopedale, Ohio, which sits on top of one of the state's richest coal deposits. For nearly a century here, mining has been one of the few professions guaranteeing a good and consistent salary.
But in the past two years, an increasing number of coal-powered electricity plants across the country have announced closures. Estimates vary, but banking and industry analysis firm Credit Suisse put expected and known closures for 2009-2012 at 111 plants, that's one-fifth of the nation's nearly 500 coal plants.


There are two main factors in the demise of those plants. First, the price of coal's competitor, natural gas, is decreasing. At the same time, a new rule from the Environmental Protection Agency is pushing the price of coal up.

That change, called the Maximum Achievable Control Technology, or MACT, rule requires that coal- and oil-fired power plants reduce pollutant emission rates significantly. The rule, which operates under the Clean Air Act, does not stipulate a lower level of carbon output. But by requiring lower mercury and other toxic emissions, it would reduce carbon as well.

The EPA estimates this will result in some 1% of national electricity capacity shutting down, and a cost increase of about 3.7% in retail electricity.

But those in coal country give much higher estimates. They believe if President Obama stays in office and the rule continues, it will mean the end of their industry.

"If coal fell, which is one of the main sources of employment around this area, everything would suffer," Sedgmer said while sitting on her front porch. "There'd be no funding for the schools, which are already suffering. I can't see how destroying one industry benefits anything."

The job is a source of income for the family and pride for Ryan. "I like it," the 30-year-old said. "I enjoy doing it. ... It's provided for our family. We have a big family and we haven't had to worry about too much."

Watch behind-the-scenes interview with Sedgmer

The Sedgmers have invested a lot in their home in Hopedale, which is next to the towns where Ryan and Amanda grew up. When another mining job moved the family away, the Sedgmers rented out the 100-year-old home, keeping a foothold in their community.

Thanks to a new mining job, two weeks ago the Sedgmers moved back to the area. They put up a "Home Sweet Home" sign in the kitchen. They want to stay.

"If all coal mines shut down," Amanda Sedgmer paused, "we would struggle ... we would definitely lose our house. "

Sedgmer voted for President Obama in 2008 and she is not a particular fan of Mitt Romney, but she's voting for the Republican because she believes he is the only chance the coal industry and her community have to survive.

Romney hopes all this concern helps him in the Buckeye swing state and in other coal communities. He has told crowds at campaign speeches that President Obama "sure doesn't like coal." The president has vigorously disagreed, saying he is for "clean coal."
 Environmentalists believe the EPA rule and the increasing closures of coal plants are breakthroughs that are overdue and will do dramatic good.

Les Brown, the president of the Earth Policy Institute, points to studies that coal emissions, including mercury and other pollutants, cause more than 10,000 deaths a year.

"It's a war for survival," Brown said, sitting in a Washington office filled with piles of reports and papers about the environment. "Saving lives, not just a handful of lives, but thousands of lives. But more broadly, saving the planet."

Would he like to see all coal plants closed? "Yes," Brown responded, "It would be cleaner, it would be safer and it would help stabilize the climate, which is the big threat to our future. I mean it's even difficult to put a price tag on that."

http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/17/us/embed-america-energy-war/index.html?hpt=hp_c1

Broken Promises by President Obama on Leaked Trade Document

WASHINGTON -- A critical document from President Barack Obama's free trade negotiations with eight Pacific nations was leaked online early Wednesday morning, revealing that the administration intends to bestow radical new political powers upon multinational corporations, contradicting prior promises.
The leaked document has been posted on the website of Citizens Trade Campaign, a long-time critic of the administration's trade objectives. The new leak follows substantial controversy surrounding the secrecy of the talks, in which some members of Congress have complained they are not being given the same access to trade documents that corporate officials receive.
"The outrageous stuff in this leaked text may well be why U.S. trade officials have been so extremely secretive about these past two years of [trade] negotiations," said Lori Wallach, director of Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch in a written statement.
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) has been so incensed by the lack of access as to introduce legislation requiring further disclosure. House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) has gone so far as to leak a separate document from the talks on his website. Other Senators are considering writing a letter to Ron
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/13/obama-trade-document-leak_n_1592593.html