Ask Mr. Green: Coal on the Dole

Hey Mr. Green,

Is there a resource that compiles all coal related subsidies, including transportation, property, and other tax and direct subsidies, that can be quantified to a per-megawatt-hour cost?

—James, Richmond, Virginia

As I noted two years ago, puzzling out the subsidies to coal is as about as dicey as navigating through a dark mine tunnel swarming with Velcro-winged bats. The situation hasn’t changed greatly since. Because there is no single resource that totals up all the subsidies, it’s impossible to arrive at a per-megawatt-hour cost. The most clearly stated total is a federal subsidy of $1.358 billion in 2010 to coal, by the U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA). However, this number is deceptive because it grossly understates the total subsidies, which is why it has been sharply criticized by the Union of Concerned Scientists, among others

The problem with that EIA calculation is that it looks at only five coal-subsidy sources — direct payments, tax advantages, R&D funding, loan guarantees, and federal electric programs — while conveniently ignoring numerous other forms, including low-cost mine leases, tax-free revenue bonds to support construction of coal-fired power plants, subsidies to coal-burning electric power plants, subsidized transportation of coal on federal waterways, and expenditures to police coal pollution and clean up the mess created by coal in the first place. Perhaps more fudgingly, the EIA doesn’t even count tax breaks for coal (or any other energy source) if those same tax benefits are also bestowed on other industries. Nor does it account for state subsidies to coal, such as Kentucky’s $115 million per year. The EIA also makes no attempt to calculate the hidden subsidies in the form of the costs incurred from damage to public health and the environment, which may run to the tens of billions of dollars each year. This damage includes mercury poisoning, lungs damaged by power plant emissions, and lives and landscapes destroyed by everything from mining itself to pollution from shipping.

Even the EIA’s latest lowball estimates admit that the federal government pays a direct subsidy of $4.18 billion for all fossil fuels, and $6.64 for biofuels, mostly ethanol, which itself requires a huge amount of fossil fuel to produce. But if you think that total of $10.82 billion a year is a steep price to pay to suffocate in global warming gases and pollution, consider that worldwide subsidies for all fossil fuels exceed $500 billion, according the International Energy Agency.

Got a question? Ask Mr. Green!

 

--photo by Lori Eanes

Memorial Day Feast: Peanut Butter Cookies

This week, we asked the editors at EcoSalon to recommend their favorite recipes for a Memorial Day feast. Celebrate a long, warm-weather weekend with four green dishes that are easy to pack up for a picnic or bring to a barbecue.

Recipe #4: Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cookies

Short on time and ingredients? These gluten-free cookies are as easy as a jar of peanut butter sitting in your pantry and an egg in the refrigerator. They can also be made quick enough that you can have them finished before your morning coffee break (no really, we tried it), and the end result is a perfect combination of sweet and salty.

Ingredients:

1 cup crunchy, salted peanut butter
1/3 cup organic turbinado sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

In a bowl, combine egg, sugar, and vanilla extract. Add in peanut butter and chocolate chips and stir together.

Scoop out about a tablespoon of dough and roll into a ball. Place on greased baking sheet and flatten carefully with a fork.

Bake at 350F for 12 to 16 minutes.

Let sit for a couple of minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.

--Anna Brones / Image courtesy of Anna Brones

This recipe originally appeared as part of EcoSalon's Sunday recipe series.

Memorial Day Feast: Superfood Salad

This week, we asked the editors at EcoSalon to recommend their favorite recipes for a Memorial Day feast. Celebrate a long, warm-weather weekend with four green dishes that are easy to pack up for a picnic or bring to a barbecue.  

Recipe #3: Beet, Orange, and Spinach Superfood Salad

Here’s a gorgeous and tasty salad that’s packed with "superfoods" to keep your immune system in top form. Enjoy it for a light lunch or dinner or serve it to guests. It’s sure to inspire your palate.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 small-medium red beets, scrubbed, trimmed, and drizzled with a little olive oil
4 small handfuls of baby spinach
2 juicy navel or blood oranges
2 tablespoons juice from the oranges
2 tablespoons white wine or champagne vinegar
7 tablespoons mild vegetable oil
Salt & pepper to taste
Toasted walnuts for garnish
Avocado slices for garnish

Note: use organic, local ingredients when possible.

Directions:

 

Memorial Day Feast: Sweet Potato Chips

This week, we asked the editors at EcoSalon to recommend their favorite recipes for a Memorial Day feast. Celebrate a long, warm-weather weekend with four green dishes that are easy to pack up for a picnic or bring to a barbecue.  

Recipe #2: Sweet Potato Chips

Oh, the deliciously clever ways we have found to sneak in our veggies! Chips made from vegetables are for sure a healthier alternative to the processed, fried and sodium-packed versions commonly found corrupting grocery store aisles near and far. Luckily, our options have expanded in recent years, with the market now offering a variety of baked and low-sodium chips to choose from, including the highly popular Terra Chips that, albeit fried, are made of a mixture of taro, sweet potato, yuca, batata, parsnip, and ruby taro.

However, when I want a more rustic version of vegetable chips that allow me to get the best of both worlds — baked and vegetable-based (as opposed to corn-based) — I like to make them myself using whatever vegetables I have on hand. It’s the perfect way to finish off any leftover vegetables from the week that are rounding their last leg. Root vegetables work best, because they hold their shape — using the same instructions below, experiment with beets, carrot, zucchini, and even kale.

Cyclists Draw Animal Shapes Over Tokyo

 

A group of cycling cartographers in Tokyo are creating a zoo of bike routes. Using a Sony GPS device called a nav-u, they ride around the city in paths shaped like the outlines of animals seen from above. A whale and a sea lion are the most recent additions to the 15-strong menagerie of rides. Can someone get this going stateside?

--Jake Abrahamson is the editorial assistant at Sierra

Video and image courtesy of Tokyo Zoo Project

Memorial Day Feast: Marinated Cilantro Cucumbers

This week, we asked the editors at EcoSalon to recommend their favorite recipes for a Memorial Day feast. Celebrate a long, warm-weather weekend with four green dishes that are easy to pack up for a picnic or bring to a barbecue.  

Recipe #1: Marinated Cilantro Cucumbers

Pickling is in, but quite frankly, who has the time?

I grew up on a steady Swedish summer diet of marinated cucumbers, always kept on hand by my grandmother. They remind me of her kitchen, and unlike pickles, only have to sit for an hour for the flavor to absorb. The classic version uses dill, but for a slightly different taste that’s perfect for warm weather, cilantro hits the spot.

Light and refreshing, you’ll find that this recipe will soon be a staple.

Ingredients

• 1 English cucumber
• 2 tablespoons organic cane sugar
• 2 tablespoons vinegar
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• 1/2 cup water
• pinch of ground pepper
• 2 pinches salt

Directions

Remove the ends of the cucumber, and thinly slice.

In a bowl combine vinegar and water and stir in sugar until dissolved. Add in pepper, salt and cilantro.

Place in sliced cucumber and let chill in refrigerator for one hour before eating.

Store in the refrigerator.

--Anna Brones / images courtesy of EcoSalon

This recipe originally appeared as part of EcoSalon's Sunday recipe series. Check out the full series here. 

Test Your Bike IQ: How Much Does it Cost?

You know it. You love it. The bicycle is a clean machine in a carbon-fueled world. To celebrate Bike to Work Week and National Bike Month, we put together a quiz to test your transportation IQ.

Q: On average, the annual operating cost of a car is $8,220. How much does it cost per year to maintain a bike?

A) $308

B) $3,020

C) $20

Test Your Bike IQ: If They Build It...

You know it. You love it. The bicycle is a clean machine in a carbon-fueled world. To celebrate Bike to Work Week and National Bike Month, we put together a quiz to test your transportation IQ.

Q: Biking and walking are popular modes of transportation — about 12 percent of all trips made in the U.S. are by bike or on foot. What percentage of federal transportation spending funds bike and pedestrian infrastructure?

A) 12 percent

B) 1.6 percent

C) 75 percent

Test Your Bike IQ: Pedals vs Pumps

You know it. You love it. The bicycle is a clean machine in a carbon-fueled world. To celebrate Bike to Work Week and National Bike Month, we put together a quiz to test your transportation IQ.

 

Q: Bikes are ideal for short excursions to the grocery, post office, or library. Whether by car, bike, or foot, what percentage of trips occur within two miles of home?

A) 40 percent

B) 15 percent

C) 82 percent

Test Your Bike IQ: Bikeways vs Highways

You know it. You love it. The bicycle is a clean machine in a carbon-fueled world. To celebrate Bike to Work Week and National Bike Month, we put together a quiz to test your transportation IQ.

 

Q: The city of Portland, Oregon, has won praise for its city-wide bicycle network, which cost $60 million. How many miles of urban highway would that amount fund?

A) 362 miles

B) one mile

C) 21 miles