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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Fossil-fuels subsidized at USD 1 Trillion per year

PostCarbon

Eliminating fossil fuel subsidies is not a new concept. Back in 2009, the G20 committed to phasing out fossil fuels in the ‘medium term’. Earlier this year, close to a million people signed a petitions from Avaaz.org and 350.org urging world leaders at the G20 Mexico meeting and the Rio+20 Earth Summit to follow up earlier promises with concrete action. The 2,700 members of the UN global compact released a statement supporting the idea, saying:

It is time to make the Rio+20 conference the beginning of the end of all subsidies to fossil fuels and reorient subsidies towards clean and renewable energy, including activities such as loan guarantee programmes for ensuring access to sufficient capital for renewable energy companies, measures to stabilize the long-term price of power from renewable projects, and policies to encourage the adoption of transformative low-carbon solutions.”

In total, 135 countries have voiced their support for fossil fuel subsidy reform. But, as you can see in this study from Oil Change International, little progress has been made so far. 

http://priceofoil.org/fossil-fuel-subsidies/international

Carbon: The Biggest Overlooked Fossil Fuel Subsidy | ThinkProgress

Carbon: The Biggest Overlooked Fossil Fuel Subsidy | ThinkProgress: "These carbon emissions may reasonably be considered a subsidy because they impose various costs on society (on agricultural productivity, property damage, human health, etc.), but since most countries don’t yet put a price on carbon emissions, these costs are not reflected in the fossil fuel market price.  Rather than fossil fuel producers and consumers paying these costs, society as a whole picks up the tab.  Therefore, fossil fuel prices are kept artificially low (Figure 2), which is generally the purpose of subsidies."

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