Global Fossil Fuel Subsidies Topped $620 Billion in 2011 – EcoWatch: Uniting the Voice of the Grassroots Environmental Movement

Global Fossil Fuel Subsidies Topped $620 Billion in 2011 – EcoWatch: Uniting the Voice of the Grassroots Environmental Movement: "The energy game is rigged in favor of fossil fuels because we omit the environmental and health costs of burning coal, oil and natural gas from their prices. Subsidies manipulate the game even further. According to conservative estimates from the Global Subsidies Initiative and the International Energy Agency (IEA), governments around the world spent more than $620 billion to subsidize fossil fuel energy in 2011: some $100 billion for production and $523 billion for consumption. This was 20 percent higher than in 2010, largely because of higher world oil prices."

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Bangkok auto-purchase subsidy creates traffic nightmare

Traffic tops governor's to-do list | Bangkok Post: breakingnews: "Hundreds of thousands of new cars have hit the streets in the wake of the government's wildly successful tax-rebate programme for first-car buyers. Some longtime residents believe traffic is as bad as in the mid-1990s before the capital had any mass transit."

Starving the cities to feed the suburbs | Grist

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Starving the cities to feed the suburbs | Grist: "And the program is biased against mixed-use development in walkable urban environments: The FHA has historically refused to back mortgages for condos in buildings that are more than 25 percent commercial. They recently raised the limit to 35 percent — a step in the right direction, but on the whole, the program still tilts strongly toward houses (read: suburban-style development)."

Shell gets massive, involuntary aid package from Alaska, U.S. Coast Guard, and you | Grist

Shell gets massive, involuntary aid package from Alaska, U.S. Coast Guard, and you | Grist: "When it comes to search-and-rescue, Mosley says not to expect money back. “I have yet to see an incident in which we do search and rescue that we look for reimbursement,” he said. “That’s why the taxpayers pay us to do our jobs.” Among the Coast Guard’s search-and-rescue efforts in this case? Three round-trip Jayhawk helicopter flights out to the Kulluk, each trip rescuing six members of the rig’s 18-person crew. Bringing people back onto the rig to test its integrity. Overflights to assess damage. The Coast Guard also reached out to the Department of Defense to borrow two Chinook helicopters to transport equipment. All of that? On your tab."

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Fossil Fuel Subsidies Run Rampant at the State Level – EcoWatch: Uniting the Voice of the Grassroots Environmental Movement

Fossil Fuel Subsidies Run Rampant at the State Level – EcoWatch: Uniting the Voice of the Grassroots Environmental Movement: "These subsidies have come through the operation of the state tax code to be sure, but also through every other available mechanism of government market intervention—a list that includes subsidized credit and insurance, infrastructure provision, unfunded oversight, direct grants and below-market resource sales. And, just as these other types of support have received insufficient attention in federal fiscal cliff discussions, they are too often ignored at the state level as well."

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ConocoPhillips By The Numbers: Earns $1.8 Billion Profit, Gets $600 Million In Annual Tax Breaks | ThinkProgress

ConocoPhillips By The Numbers: Earns $1.8 Billion Profit, Gets $600 Million In Annual Tax Breaks | ThinkProgress:
Below is a quick glimpse at what ConocoPhillips is using its billions of dollars in profits for:

– ConocoPhillips has already spent $1.9 million lobbying Congress this year. Since 2011, ConocoPhillips spent over $20 million on lobbying Congress, making it the top spender of the oil and gas industry.
– Conoco has contributed over $483,000 to federal campaigns this year, with 90 percent of the contributions going to Republicans.
– Conoco is sitting on $1.3 billion in cash reserves.
– The company spent 8 percent of its third quarter profit — or $149 million— buying back its own stock, which enriches the largest shareholders and executives.
– Conoco’s production is 1 percent lower than this time last year (1.525 million BOE per day vs. 1.538 million BOE per day in 2011)
– Conoco paid an 18 percent effective federal tax rate in 2011. This is nearly half of the 35 percent standard top corporate tax rate.
– ConocoPhillips’ former CEO James Mulva received $18.92 million in total compensation last year. Current CEO, Ryan Lance received over $5.9 million in compensation in 2011. He sits on the board of the American Petroleum Institute, the lobbying arm of the oil and gas industry.

Full Cost of Coal $500 Billion/Year in U.S., Harvard Study Finds - CleanTechnica

Full Cost of Coal $500 Billion/Year in U.S., Harvard Study Finds - CleanTechnica: "Each stage in the life cycle of coal—extraction, transport, processing, and combustion—generates a waste stream and carries multiple hazards for health and the environment. These costs are external to the coal industry and thus are often considered as “externalities.” We estimate that the life cycle effects of coal and the waste stream generated are costing the U.S. public a third to over one-half of a trillion dollars annually. Many of these so-called externalities are, moreover, cumulative. Accounting for the damages conservatively doubles to triples the price of electricity from coal per kWh generated, making wind, solar, and other forms of non fossil fuel power generation, along with investments in efficiency and electricity conservation methods, economically competitive. We focus on Appalachia, though coal is mined in other regions of the United States and is burned throughout the world."

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