Category: Environment
-
Moral Hazard and the Federalization of the Disaster Business
According to a graphic displayed on the “Morning Joe” show on MSNBC this morning, Hurricane Sandy will be the second most expensive hurricane in United States history, after Katrina. The usual suspects will use information like this to argue that a bigger, stronger federal government is needed (a) to respond to natural disasters, and (b)…
-
Sandy, Nukes, the Internet and Climate Change
By Peter Galuszka Super-storm Sandy raises more issues about nuclear power, the internet and also about global warming. As the storm struck the New Jersey coast and flooded New York City, three nuclear rectors were shut down because of problems with high water levels and electricity. Another reactor went on standby “alert” because its water…
-
Sandy’s Subliminal Messages
—
by
in Business and Economy, Consumer Protection, Demographics, Disasters and Disaster Preparedness, Economic development, Environment, Federal issues, Government Finance, Infrastructure, Insurance, Media, Money in politics, Planning, Politics, Property rights, Public safety & health, Science & Technology, TransportationBy Peter Galuszka You have to love the Richmond Times-Dispatch. They never miss an opportunity to showcase their beloved Republican Gov. Robert F. McDonnell. As Hurricane Sandy approached, our intrepid governor was pictured everywhere: giving a statement about a state of emergency; looking very leader-like in a command center; appearing concerned as in this TD…
-
The Grass Isn’t Always Greener
The de-lawning movement is slowly taking hold in the Richmond region. Converting grass into flower beds and vegetable gardens creates more attractive yards, cuts the expense of lawn maintenance and helps clean the Bay.
-
The New Reality of U.S. Energy Few Admit
By Peter Galuszka When it comes to energy, the 2012 election campaign may present one version of reality but another world – that of cold, hard economics – presents something else. In the process, a number of myths are being shattered. The most recent news is that Richmond-based Dominion is shutting down its Wisconsin-based Kewaunee…
-
Tell George Allen: U.S. Coal Exports to Europe Reaching Record Highs
By Peter Galuszka This just in from the trenches of “The War on Coal.” How can it be that the U.S. coal industry is heading towards extinction because of Barack Obama’s “war” on the sector when American coal exports to Europe are approaching record highs? Yes, I have that right. It’s actually an unusual flip…
-
A Small Victory for Private Property, the Environment and Oysters Everywhere
Photo Credit: Fox News Greg Garrett and Anthony Bavuso won a ruling from Virginia judge earlier this week that will allow them to continue to engage in commercial oyster farming at their York County residences. That ruling reversed an earlier Board of Zoning Appeals decision that had sided with York County in determining that Garrett…
-
A Rising Tide Raises… Questions. Lots of Questions.
A new William & Mary Law School clinic will address prickly legal and policy questions arising from endemic flooding in Virginia’s vulnerable Tidewater lowlands. by James A. Bacon No one knows how fast the sea level off Virginia’s coast will rise by the end of the century. It could be more than a foot, if…
-
The Big Picture on Coal
By Peter Galuszka Coal mining continues to be a flash point in the presidential campaign as Mitt Romney accuses Barack Obama of proposing onerous regulations designed to kill Appalachian coal jobs. In the two years I spent researching my new book, “Thunder on the Mountain: Death at Massey and the Dirty Secrets Behind Big Coal,…
-
What Massey Energy? What Mine Disaster?
By Peter Galuszka A follow up on the “Governor’s Conference on Energy” in Richmond this week. Yesterday, I attended a session titled “Coal: Rhetoric Versus Reality.” As expected, the “rhetoric” was that of environmentalists and the “reality” was what was presented by two coal company executives and a lobbyist from the American Coalition for Clean…
-
More On Coal and Utility Money Ties to Va. Politicians
By Peter Galuszka This isn’t exactly breaking news, but coal companies and utilities pay to be a dominant force in Virginia politics, a trio of environmental groups charges as The Governor’s Conference on Energy opens in Richmond today. The three groups – Appalachian Voices, Sierra Club Virginia and Chesapeake Climate Action Network – note that…
-
A Coal-Fired Power Plant Shuts Down
By Peter Galuszka For Northern Virginians who love the Potomac River, sailing out of the Washington Sailing Marina just south of Reagan National Airport is a special treat. From little boats, sails flapping in the wind, they can see the broad sweep of the D.C. and Alexandria waterfront: the Jefferson Memorial, Memorial Bridge , Hains…
-
Rumors of Big Coal’s Death Are Greatly Exaggerated
By Peter Galuszka Beware the power of Big Coal, especially in a swing state such as Virginia during election year. The state that ranks 12th in production in the nation, the Old Dominion has been the source of much coal company campaign contributions, most of it going to Republicans like George Allen, who is running…
-
A Paean to Driverless Cars
“The Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca is a 2.2-mile asphalt roller coaster plunging and soaring across California’s tawny Monterey highlands. The most famous section, the Corkscrew, requires drivers storming up a long hill to slam the brakes and take a hard left into what seems to be thin air. The car goes momentarily weightless, and…
-
Sen. Stanley Now Says Uranium “Call” Was His Idea Alone
By Peter Galuszka State Sen. Bill Stanley has told a Southside newspaper that he “misspoke” when he brought up the name of Gov. Robert F. McDonnell during his Aug. 31 telephone call that was taped recorded by Pittsylvania County Supervisor Jerry A. Hagerman. Stanley admitted that he “misspoke” when he told Hagerman that McDonnell had…