Energy Related Stocks

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Current Conditions

Logan, WV Updated Tuesday, February 09, 2010 3:20 AM Snow 27°F High: 34°F Low: 20°F Wind: 5 mph Humidity: 86% Wednesday 27° / 21° Thursday 32° / 19° Friday 33° / 23° Saturday 35° / 22° MSN Weather Data provided by WDT

 LOONEY LEFT

QUOTES

The

"Obnoxious Twit Award"

goes to ....

The young woman who took part in Thursday's Rainforest Action Network "Action" at Massey's Progress Coal Surface Mine.

When interviewed by a WSAZ reporter at the Boone County Jail, she was asked what, if anything, she would like to say to those "coal miners who are out there trying to make living?"

With a smirk, she sat for a moment and then leaned over to another of the twits to say ...

"Help me out with this one."

This clearly shows these people have never once considered the impact their actions have the lives of West Virginia coal miners and their families.

The 

"Chinese Acrobat Award"

goes to ...

Ken Ward, environmental activist

of the Charleston Gazette.

In his rush to find a negative story about the coal industry for the Sunday, June 21 edition of the Gazette-Mail, Ward cited a "study" by a WVU "researcher." The "study," Ward declared, showed that the total health care costs due to injuries and illnesses attributable to the coal industry ($45 billion) far exceeded the economic contribution of the coal industry (cited as $8 billion).

Sounded good, but the numbers were based on a 2001 University of Kentucky study of the economic impact of coal on the region. Had Ward looked closer at the original study, he would have seen the WVU study only counted part of the economic impact of coal (apparently wages) and did not include the tax base (almost $600 billion in 2001).

Want proof?

The following is a quote from the original UK study.

"The total impact of the coal industry on the economy exceeded industry employment and earnings due to the additional indirect and induced impacts on other sectors of the economy. The total impact was approximately 50% higher than the direct industry impact for output, value-added, and earnings, and 100% greater for employment. The total earnings impact was $6.2 billion and the total employment impact was 135,000 jobs in the 118 Appalachian coal-producing counties. These total impacts accounted for 4.4% of 1997 employment and 5.1% of 1997 worker earnings in these 118 counties overall. The shares were much larger in selected counties throughout Appalachia, particularly in Central Appalachia. The total economic impact of the coal mining industry accounted for 29.9% of employment and 27.6% of earnings in the Central Appalachia region.

The tax impact of the coal mining industry was also concentrated in Central Appalachia.

The overall tax impact was estimated to be $559.5 billion per year in the 118 coal-producing counties from severance, income or sales taxes. These figures did not include the tax impact of more locally oriented taxes such as property taxes, utility taxes, or other miscellaneous taxes.

"Much of the impact occurred in Central Appalachia, primarily due to the much higher severance tax on coal in the region. One-third of this overall tax impact occurred in Kentucky, 7 percent in Virginia and 45 percent in West Virginia." 

While we believe even one work-related injury or illness is too many, we believe a responsible journalist should fully investigate the information he is given, not simply regurgitate information that supports your bias.

It only took a few moments to find the errors in the WVU "study." It was clearly an effort by someone to mold information to fit their position.

We also believe the Charleston Gazette should put such information through rigorous testing for accuracy before releasing it as accurate. This is even more important in that the Gazette insists on portraying itself as the "newspaper of record" for West Virginia.

The people of West Virginia and the southern coalfields deserve better.   

LOONEY LEFT QUOTES

HALL OF SHAME

"I actually voted for that before I voted against it,"

John "I have a plan" Kerry