CoalSwarm Turns One
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This month marks the completion of the first year of the
collaboration between CoalSwarm and the Center for Media and Democracy
to create a wiki-based information clearinghouse on coal issues. To date, over 1,000 articles have
been created on a range of topics from "Alabama and coal" to "ZeroGen." Profiles include: 300 proposed coal plants in 17 countries and 43 states; 121 power companies and agencies; 47 coal mining companies and agencies; 25 key private sector decision makers on coal; 47 coal lobbying, trade, and PR groups; 269 citizen groups; 137 journalists, 70 nonviolent direct action protests. Over 17,000 people have visited the
CoalSwarm portal page,
and hundreds of thousands have visited various articles, most arriving via Google and other search engines. By
establishing CoalSwarm as a portal within SourceWatch, a five-year-old
wiki that initially focused on corporate spin before branching out into
additional topics, we've gained the advantage of SourceWatch's
considerable "Google juice." This means that for many terms, from "coal
plant cancellations" to "coal moratorium," to "Michigan and coal,"
CoalSwarm's articles are among the first items to appear in
a Google search. With the help of a growing network of wiki reporters, CoalSwarm continues to improved its coverage of coal issues by state or country as well as by plant. Currently, the reporter network includes Bob Burton (international), Meilin Chinn (Western states), Colleen Cronin (New
England), Mark Smith and Beth Wellington (Appalachia), Cindy Klein (Upper Midwest), Mary Mitchell (Upper Midwest), Peter Sinclair (Michigan), Kaethin Prizer (general topics), and Ted Nace (general topics). CoalSwarm also shares research and coverage with SourceWatch's new Climate Change portal.
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| What Happened to the 151 Proposed Coal Plants?
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The first project undertaken by CoalSwarm was to document and track the 151 proposed coal plants listed by the Department of Energy in the spring of 2007. Our January 2008 report revealed a more intense slowdown (59 plants cancelled, abandoned, or on hold) than had previously been reported in the media. Our latest status report (November 2008) showed that the slowdown continues, with at least 82 of the 151 projects cancelled, abandoned, or on hold. In fact, the full number of plants on the cancelled/abandoned/hold list has actually reached 117, including proposals not included in the DOE's May 2007 survey. Nor does that number include the additional delays caused by the EPA Deseret ruling. While it is premature to announce that the coal boom is over, it is fair to say that the expansion of coal has certainly been blunted. Total U.S. coal-fired summer generating capacity in 2007 was 309,913 megawatts (MW), virtually unchanged from the 310,198 MW of capacity reported in 2000. Although seven power plants totaling 3,333 MW came online from 2000 through 2007, roughly an equal amount of capacity was retired during the same period.
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Next Step: Phasing Out the Existing Coal Fleet
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Even though the anti-coal movement will have to continue fighting new plant proposals for years to come, it is time to also spur discussion about how to phase out the existing fleet of 500 coal-fired plants, which NASA's climate scientists say must happen by 2030. Because these plants, once built, are so cheap to operate, neither a carbon tax nor a cap-and-trade system can be relied upon to shut them down. Additional measures will be needed. The billion-gallon fly ash spill at the 53-year-old Kingston Fossil Plant in Tennessee illustrates just one of the many forms of environmental damage produced by these aging plants, half of which were built before 1967. Laying the groundwork for creating a movement aimed at phasing out existing coal will be a major priority for CoalSwarm in the coming year. Our Grist article "Meet the Boomers" and our wiki pages "Coal phase-out" and "Existing U.S. Coal Plants" provide basic data on why a phase-out over the next two decades is necessary in order to prevent runaway global warming, as well as how a phase-out might be organized.
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March 2 - Protest at the Capitol Power Plant
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Direct action protests against coal are accelerating, with over 41 in the past year. Now the first national protest against coal is being planned by a coalition of 34 groups for March 2nd at the Capitol Power Plant in Washington, D.C. Although this 99-year-old plant has not produced electricity since 1952 (just steam and refrigeration for the Capitol complex), it continues to spew inordinate quantities of particulates and other pollution in the midst of a densely populated metropolitan area, including 65 percent of all the PM2.5 particulates emitted by point sources in D.C. As detailed in CoalSwarm's article on the Capitol Power Plant, the contract to supply coal for the plant illustrates the money trail and inside connections that continue to distort public policy on coal issues. Under that contract, coal for the Capitol Power Plant is provided by a company owned by James "Buck" Harless, a "Pioneer" and "Ranger" contributor to George W. Bush as well as a major contributor to Senators Mitch McConnell and Robert Byrd, two senior senators who have blocked efforts to green the Capitol Power Plant.
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Focus on Michigan
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With more active coal plant proposals than any other Midwestern state, Michigan has become a hot-spot in the coal fight. Wiki reporter Peter Sinclair's articles (including Michigan and coal, Wolverine Clean Energy Venture, Midland Power Plant, Solar Energy in Michigan, and Michigan wind energy) provide a comprehensive view of developments. Breaking news stories include Dynegy's decision to dissolve its joint venture with LS Power, and reports that Governor Granholm may be close to announcing a moratorium on new coal plants. Stay tuned!
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CoalSwarm on Grist
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The urgency of the coal issue means there's no time to reinvent the wheel. Just as we've piggybacked our wiki onto the SourceWatch wiki, we've also piggybacked our blogging onto the most widely read online environmental journal, Grist. Since March, we've posted numerous articles, including:
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Recent Additions to the CoalSwarm wiki
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The following is a partial list of articles recently created or expanded on the wiki:
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