When it comes to global warming, coal is the gorilla in the room. Jeff Goodell More Quotes by Jeff Goodell More Quotes From Jeff Goodell In reality, studies show that investments to spur renewable energy and boost energy efficiency generate far more jobs than oil and coal. Jeff Goodell oil jobs reality One of the big questions in the climate change debate: Are humans any smarter than frogs in a pot? If you put a frog in a pot and slowly turn up the heat, it won't jump out. Instead, it will enjoy the nice warm bath until it is cooked to death. We humans seem to be doing pretty much the same thing. Jeff Goodell frogs climate nice But Big Oil and Big Coal have always been as skilled at propaganda as they are at mining and drilling. Like the tobacco industry before them, their success depends on keeping Americans stupid. Jeff Goodell uranium-mining oil stupid Compared to coal, which generates almost half the electricity in the United States, natural gas is indeed a cleaner, less polluting fuel. But compared to, say, solar, it's filthy. And of course there is nothing renewable about natural gas. Jeff Goodell coal united-states half So if you want to know how Exxon Mobil can make $10 billion profit in 90 days, just look around. The whole world was built for them. Jeff Goodell want looks world Bill Gates is a relative newcomer to the fight against global warming, but he's already shifting the debate over climate change. Jeff Goodell bills climate fighting Nobody disputes that cheap natural gas would be a good thing for the economy. The question is, is this a sustainable new development that can be counted on for decades to come, or simply a 'bubble' brought on by a land grab and drilling frenzy? Jeff Goodell development land would-be Extracting oil from the tar sands is a nasty, polluting, energy-intensive business. Jeff Goodell oil nasty energy You think the weather is weird now? Just wait. A new MIT study, just published in a peer-reviewed journal, projects that the Earth could see warming of more than 9 degrees F by 2100 - more than twice earlier projections. Jeff Goodell waiting weather thinking From the industry's point of view, the problem is not that coal companies blast the top off mountains, turning the area into a moonscape and polluting the air and releasing toxic chemical into what's left of the local streams and aquifers. It's that the people who live near the mines are too cozy with their cousins. Jeff Goodell aquifers cousin air The coal industry is an even larger part of the Australian economy than it is of the American, and it has an enormous amount of political power. Jeff Goodell coal economy political Although most Americans don't know it, the U.S. gets more oil from Canada than it does from the entire Middle East. Jeff Goodell middle-east oil doe Coal boosters like to tout coal as cheap and plentiful - well, not anymore. At least not in China. Jeff Goodell coal china wells In reality, Republicans have long been at war with clean energy. They have ridiculed investments in solar and wind power, bashed energy-efficiency standards, attacked state moves to promote renewable energy and championed laws that would enshrine taxpayer subsidies for fossil fuels while stripping them from wind and solar. Jeff Goodell war reality moving When it comes to energy, cost isn't everything - but it's a lot. Everybody wants cheap power. Jeff Goodell cost energy want If we drill the hell out of everything, including protected public lands and fragile regions like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, America can emerge as an 'energy superpower.' Jeff Goodell wildlife land america Climate scientists have long pointed to the Southwest as one of the places in the U.S. that is most vulnerable to global warming impacts, especially drought. And if there's one thing that even climate denialists don't dispute, dry things burn. Jeff Goodell impact climate long In the U.S. alone, weather disasters caused $50 billion in economic damages in 2010. Jeff Goodell economic damage weather Australia is the only island continent on the planet, which means that changes caused by planet-warming pollution - warmer seas, which can drive stronger storms, and more acidic oceans, which wreak havoc on the food chain - are even more deadly here. Jeff Goodell australia ocean mean It may be too late for West Virginia to save itself from the ravages of Big Coal. But it's not too late for America. Jeff Goodell virginia too-late america
