Don't live a lie.

The world is moving away from environmentally dangerous practices. The USA is probably one of the last to do so when it should be the first.

Annex A...

...Industrial processes 
        Mineral products
        Chemical industry
        Metal production 
        Other production
        Production of halocarbons and sulphur hexafluoride
        Consumption of halocarbons and sulphur hexafluoride
        Other Solvent and other product use...

I think that covers most of the mineral products and their processes to extract them from Earth. The chemical industry became a very exciting industry under President Obama. A new industrial standard began and I haven't really commented on it. 

"Green Chemistry" and the universities have been involved in developing these new methods and products. The University of Michigan and it's brilliant Graduate students and faculty were a part of it.

Green Chemistry is to make consumer items far safer. So, maybe I should start with that next week. It is a huge plus for any economy and the safety of the environment.

DuPont continued it's research and development during the Great Depression. It came out the other side of that economic failure ahead of the crowd and became a huge success in the following decades. The problem with some of that was dangers society didn't realize existed yet, including lack of fire resistance and retardants in furniture and clothing. Green Chemistry reverses the 'harm' in consumer products, but, leaves the quality or characteristic may be a better word, of the enhancement by chemistry.

Annex A is far larger than simply a list of items. It has content and context that is taking awhile, but, I really believe it is the best approach and it will be on the blog for a long time.

The idea there are scientists in the world that siphon off funding from governments and foundations because they have made up some kind of myth about the climate crisis is simply ridiculous. American politicians should be ashamed of their idiotic behavior, hubris and pandering to political ideologies that harm their own children's future.

Earth is not a toy. It is the one blue dot "Voyager" saw as it reached the end of our solar system. It wasn't Saturn or Jupiter that stood out so incredibly. It was Earth. Not Mars. Not any other planet. 

Earth. The water planet is uniquely important. The distant picture of Earth by Voyager I portrayed the beauty of a planet alive. Not just water with air around it or a "Red Spot." A planet with scientists that took a picture at the edge of a solar system to prove our uniqueness.

As Carl Sagan stated, "...That's home. That's us. On it (Earth) everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you heard of, every human being that ever was, lived out their lives...."

Living in the richness of a fulling life takes awareness and participation. If a person doesn't live in full awareness of their impact on Earth, their home, they are not in touch with reality. Don't live a lie.

This technique mentioned at the MIT site is used for rare earth mineral mining.

In situ leach (ISL) mining

ISL mining has environmental and safety advantages over conventional mining in that the ore body is dissolved and then pumped out, leaving minimal surface disturbance and no tailings or waste rock (World Nuclear Association, 2012). There is no ore dust or direct ore exposure to the environment and a lower consumption of water is needed in the mining process (International Atomic Energy Agency [IAEA], 2005). However, the strong acids used to dissolve the ore body commonly dissolve metals in the host rock as well. The fluids remaining after the leaching process commonly contain elevated concentrations of metals and radioactive isotopes, posing a significant risk to nearby ground and surface water sources (IAEA, 2005). Additionally, the low pH of ISL mining wastewater can result in acidification of the surrounding environment.

This is not an easy thing to do and that has nothing to do with hard work that causes perspiration. That isn't it. This is TECHNIQUE based. It requires skill and knowledge and a lot of built in precautions to the technique. This is not for the average person on a lark to make easy money. It is not for the amateur. This is serious business. 

Underground mining is about making holes in land/rock. There are tons and tons of land and rock above the mine. It is dangerous.

Underground mining (soft rock) refers to a group of underground mining techniques used to extract coal, oil shale, potash and other minerals or geological materials from sedimentary ("soft") rocks.

Longwall mining equipment consists of a coal shearer mounted on conveyor operating underneath a series of self-advancing hydraulic roof supports.

Room-and-pillar mining or continuous mining is commonly done in flat or gently dipping bedded ores. Pillars are left in place in a regular pattern while the rooms are mined out.

The picture to the left is that of room and pillar mining. In this instance the mining is done by machines. The ceiling demonstrates the pattern of a machine removing the rock.

Blast mining is an older practice of coal mining that uses explosives such as dynamite to break up the coal seam, after which the coal is gathered and loaded onto shuttle cars or conveyors for removal to a central loading area.

Shortwall mining is a method that accounts for less than 1% of deep coal production, shortwall involves the use of a continuous mining machine with moveable roof supports.

Coal skimming is no longer in general use, because of the massive amount of water needed and environmental damage thereof, in the late 1930s. 

Underground hard rock mining is underground mining techniques used to excavate hard minerals, mainly those containing metal ores such as gold, silver, iron, copper, zinc, nickel, tin, lead and gems such as diamonds.

The slow down of 'old forms of energy' is real. It is not ideology.

November 26, 2016
By Trent Williams

...Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) (click here) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 19th. The oilfield services company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.08. The business had revenue of $3.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.87 billion. Halliburton had a negative net margin of 33.29% and a positive return on equity of 1.82%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 31.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.31 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Halliburton Co. will post ($0.05) earnings per share for the current year....

This is Halliburton, the (oil) field energy company and not KBR. The two entities of the company split a few years ago.

As I read through this assessment, there is a lot of weakness in this company now. The industry itself has become weakened. Most analysis states the petroleum industry will never see the prices that spawned the TransCanada dreamscape.

The entire idea of tar sands being profitable is an extremely bad analysis. The processing of tar sands is extremely energy intensive and the oil that is garnered is not worth the cost to produce it.

This is old technology that is being 'handled' in the financial sector, but, I hear 'garage sale' when I read this. The end of Halliburton as a sincere investment is not yet set for any particular quarter, but, it is coming. It seems obvious to me.

If the petroleum industry is phasing out, then coal mining (soft mining) is most likely ahead of the oil decline. It has been and will probably continue with that momentum.

Believe it or not this is a mine entrance. The type of mine is called an "Adit." 

The mine usually goes uphill once the digging starts into the mineral deposit. It doesn't matter the type of land involved, the mines will receive water through fissures in the land or rock. 

When these types of mines are dug with minimum impact of the environment, the tilt upward handles the water runoff through gravity.

The picture below is an old Arizona gold mine. It is an Adit. It is obvious the tilt of the roof of the entrance is upward to the top of the hill. But, also plain is the fact the land collapsed within the mine and filled the hole to the entrance, closing it to more excavation. Unless, someone wants to start all over again. I suppose that depended on who survived the collapse and what amount of gold was being mined.

I know there are Americans looking at the small deposits and estimating the wealth they might get out of the rock.

There is a lot to consider and danger is an extremely important consideration.

Investment is still possible, but, caution is in order considering the extent old industries are being abandoned for the development of the future.

November 27, 2016
By Neha Chamaria, Rueben Gregg Brewer and Beth McKenna

...Reuben Gregg Brewer (click here) (Alliance Resource Partners, L.P.): If you're a contrarian investor, or just like to understand views that don't go with the mainstream, then you have to look at coal-focused Alliance Holdings GP, L.P. The big story is that renewable energy and natural gas are taking market share in the utility space, squeezing coal out of the mix. While this is an undisputable fact, there's a deeper story to look at, too.

Coal from different parts of the country have different qualities, and thus have different demand profiles. Alliance Holdings, which is the general partner for Alliance Resource Partners, L.P., is focused on the Illinois Basin region.

Illinois Basin coal has been stealing market share from other regions for years. And according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the region is projected to see increased demand out to 2040 -- even in the worst-case scenario. (The Illinois Basin is included in the "Interior Region" noted below in the graph.)

EIA coal projections out to 2040. The Interior Region, which includes the Illinois Basin, is actually set to see demand grow. Image Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration....

This is from the USA Department of Labor.

One of the aspects that lead to greater and greater mechanization of the coal underground mining were the injuries and deaths. As time marched on, the American people rejected the idea that lives were expendable.

So, when considering the vast reduction in underground mining, remember the country had enough of the deaths and injuries. The company wanted to make profit and investment into mechanization was also profitable, but, the reduction in underground mining jobs in the USA had a dual reason for the shrinking of the job pool. Profits as well as human beings lost and injured in the industry.

...Decades of Difficult but Impressive Progress (click here)

Total deaths in all types of U.S. mining, which had averaged 1,500 or more per year during earlier decades, decreased on average during the 1990s to under 100 per year, and reached historic lows of 35 total deaths in 2009 and 2012. The average annual injuries to miners in all segments of the mining industry have also decreased steadily. 

While annual coal mining deaths numbered more than 1,000 a year in the early part of the 20th century, they decreased to an average of about 451 annual fatalities in the 1950s, and to 141 in the 1970s. From 2006-2010, the yearly average number of fatalities in coal mining decreased to 35. In 2009, there were 18 recorded coal mining deaths, a record low number. Sadly, coal mining fatalities dramatically increased to 48 in 2010, with the tragedy at the Upper Big Branch Mine claiming 29 lives in addition to the 19 other coal miners killed that year.  In 2011, 21 coal miners were killed in accidents.  2012 saw 19 coal miners killed in accidents.

The safety gains in metal and nonmetal mining have also been impressive. In the 1930s, an average of 233 miners died per year in the non-coal mining sector, compared to an average of 24 fatalities per year from 2006-2010. In 2009, mining fatalities in this sector reached a then-record low of 17.  2010 saw 23 metal and nonmetal miners killed in accidents.  Record low fatalities of 16 in 2011 and 16 in 2012 show the continuing gains in metal and nonmetal mine safety....

This is an article from an insurance trade magazine. It discusses the current health and safety problem in underground mining. Just because Republicans like their hubris to make it through the day, doesn't mean there are aspects of our economy that does take issues seriously. There are and the insurance industry is one of them.

August 6, 2016
By Phillip Dozolme

Mining accidents (click here) occur in the process of mining metals or minerals. Thousands of miners die from mining accidents each year, especially in the process of coal mining and hard rock mining. Generally speaking, surface mining usually is less hazardous than underground mining.

Most of the deaths today occur in developing countries, especially China. China's coal mines are the world's deadliest, killing an average of 13 miners a day.

China accounted for the largest number of coal-mining fatalities, accounting for about 80% of the world’s total, although it produced only 35% of the world’s coal.

As a comparison, annual coal mining deaths numbered more than 1,000 a year in the early part of the 20th century in the U.S. They decreased to an average of about 450 annual fatalities in the 1950s and to 141 in the 1970s. The yearly average in coal mining decreased to 30 fatalities from 2001-2005. From 60 to 70 miners still die each year in the U.S. coal and non-coal mining industry....

To complete the picture with Caterpillar, this is the latest. The CEO is leaving.

October 18, 2016

By Geoff Colvin

...In addition, Oberhelman (click here) had been named to the top job six months before he took over, and he used the time to assemble a strategy team and study the environment. “We charted out that we want to be the leader in every market in which we compete and every industry in which we compete by 2015. To do that, what do we have to do in investments, plants, people, distribution? We had all this going in four or five months time. It was really a great exercise,” he told me then.

Clear imperatives emerged: Get bigger in mining, eco-friendly engines, and railroad equipment; bulk up heavily in regions where growth is greatest, especially in infrastructure—in other words, in China, India, and Brazil.

And the strategy team made a further key decision: Invest early in this cycle, using Cat’s financial strength while others might still be recovering.

So that’s what Oberhelman did almost immediately, putting billions in new capital into the business. Such a move can be dangerous, but Oberhelman was a disciplined manager who tracked operating profit after deducting a full capital charge, a measure known as economic profit. Wall Street was enthusiastic about all of it. When Oberhelman announced his biggest acquisition, the $8.6-billion purchase of a mining equipment manufacturer called Bucyrus International, investors actually bid Cat’s stock up, which as a reaction to an acquirer’s move is almost unheard of....

...What neither Oberhelman nor the board nor investors foresaw was that China’s growth would slow, Brazil would go into recession, commodity prices would plunge, and sales of Cat machines would consequently dry up.

For real? No one saw the slowing and failure in emerging economies after the global economic collapse?

...In businesses with capital-light business models, management can turn on a dime as conditions change. Manufacturing some of the world’s largest land-based moving objects is not one of those businesses. Everybody liked Oberhelman’s audacious strategy when he executed it, but when it didn’t pan out, he had to take the fall. That’s the nature of leadership. So let’s congratulate him, console him – and then consider the risks we’re taking in our own leadership.

Now that sounds like at least hope that USA business is realizing their folly in their overseas strategy in countries without a consumer based economy. I would never see Caterpillar doing well as a sustained market in China. To build the Three Gorges Dam maybe, but, not a sustained economic demand.

The petroleum industry strikes again. Why? there is more and more reason to believe there is absolutely no demand for this level of land disruption.

Part of what occurs with such issues is the local and state government are locked into jobs that go nowhere in the future.

For as destructive the processes were of the land in mining the silicone sand, there was no thought about the future and economic development that would work. The politics conveniently entertain these industries to the people. That is economic death and not prosperity. 

November 16, 2016

By Orlan Love

Elkader — The Clayton County Board of Adjustment (click here) voted 4-0 Tuesday night to approve a zoning change to allow the Pattison Sand Co. to expand its operations.

The panel’s approval was the final step in a year-long process to rezone 746 acres from agricultural to heavy industry to facilitate underground mining of the silica sand used in the hydraulic fracturing process of extracting oil and natural gas.

A standing-room-only crowd packed the meeting room, and more than a dozen attendees spoke both for and against the proposal during the nearly three-hour meeting.

Several of Pattison’s more than 100 employees lauded the company for its good wages and benefits and said the company and its employees contribute substantially to the Clayton County economy.

Neighbors of the mine near the town of Clayton expressed concern that language governing the zoning change does not protect their health, the health of the environment or the scenic qualities of the wooded bluffs along the Mississippi River....

This is a dying industry. But, due to the lack of Republicans with ideas to create a better and growing economy; they instead, continue to destroy the land and try to reinvigorate the old businesses of petroleum.

THIS IS A DYING INDUSTRY.

This is typical of the Red State Trickle Down Economy. It is a lie. Just like all the other lies by Republicans this is another one. 

The Red States in the Midwest USA are agricultural states. They are the world's food basket. There is not a density of population in those states and they relate to each other and their agribusiness far differently than that of the economies of New York City and Los Angeles. 

But, with land disruption the ONLY method for Republicans to declare an economy, it is obsolete. 

Example: In the heart of West Virginia there are four coal mines in relatively close proximity. The way Republicans talk about the coal industry it is the only thing that is keeping West Virginia's economy alive. THAT IS A LIE! That one particular area of West Virginia has a hand full of employees that actually can be called miners because the process is all mechanized.

There is no booming economy in West Virginia because coal mining died out decades ago. The remaining coal mines have minimal economic impact and are dangerous mines.

The same now holds true for the petroleum industry.

While we are on Caterpillar. Remember how the Republicans were mourning the supposed loss of Caterpillar due to emission standards? Right? "W"rong.

...For decades, (click here) Caterpillar had a stellar reputation among the construction community for producing a high quality machine. In recent years, however, a number of competitors have greatly improved the quality of their products, while Caterpillar has struggled with some issues at their foreign factories. There are now many construction managers who are reporting problems with Caterpillar excavators.

While there are no official surveys done of maintenance and repairs made to construction equipment, there is a lot of anecdotal evidence to sort through. Prior to the 1990s, the company had an excellent reputation for construction equipment. While repairs were rarely needed, replacement parts were easy to find, since all excavators were manufactured in America. Over the past two decades, however, outsourcing of manufacturing has coincided with many construction managers noticing that their machines need more repairs.

Komatsu saw the opening in this market, and has moved to greatly increase the quality of their equipment. Today, many construction managers swear by their Komatsu excavators. Because they are manufactured outside of the United States, however, many have reported that finding replacement parts is problematic. This might make them less than ideal in areas where obtaining replacement parts is an issue....

I am correct. Republicans were crying the emissions standards are killing jobs.

LIAR, LIAR, PANTS ARE ON FIRE, your nose is a big as a telephone wire.

The reason Caterpillar started to suffer was because of (all together now) "Outsourcing and Globalization."

One more time:

Why was Caterpillar suffering where it never did before?

Nice and loud with feeling, "Outsourcing and Globalization."

Amen.

This is the Grasberg Mine in Indonesia. Imagine the amount of water that runs into the mine and off the mountain.

The volume of water once produced by the top of this tropical rainforest was enormous and pristine clean. 

This mine is not simply an open pit mine, it also has underground mines that experience water runoff as well.

The contamination of the water alone is astronomical and exponential as time goes on.

February 14, 2014
By Alistar Bland

A global campaign (click here) to boycott what activists are calling “dirty gold” gained its 100th official follower three days before Valentine’s Day.

The pledge was launched in 2004 by the environmental group Earthworks, which has asked retail companies not to carry gold that was produced through environmentally and socially destructive mining practices. Eight of the ten largest jewelry retailers in the United States have now made the pledge, including Tiffany & Co., Target and Helzberg Diamonds. The No Dirty Gold campaign is anchored in its “golden rules,” a set of criteria encouraging the metal mining industry to respect human rights and the natural environment....

...Earthworks estimates that, to produce enough raw gold to make a single ring, 20 tons of rock and soil are dislodged and discarded. Much of this waste carries with it mercury and cyanide, which are used to extract the gold from the rock. The resulting erosion clogs streams and rivers and can eventually taint marine ecosystems far downstream of the mine site. Exposing the deep earth to air and water also causes chemical reactions that produce sulfuric acid, which can leak into drainage systems. Air quality is also compromised by gold mining, which releases hundreds of tons of airborne elemental mercury every year....

...“What we have left in most mines is very low-quality ore, with a greater ratio of rock to gold,” Septoff said.

This, he explains, makes the energy required to mine that gold—and the waste and pollution produced in the process—proportionally greater and greater. In other words, dirty gold is only getting dirtier....

I have a conscience. The mine no longer produces wealth. Yet, the people have reestablished a life worth living without the mine. Why didn't that happen in the first place. This is disgusting.

This is posted on "Caterpillar's" underground mining site. This is an e-page on the North American site.

"Dedicated Partnerships Underground" (click here)

Indeed, the minerals found in mines do come to an end.

From MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

...Underground Mining (click here)

Underground mining has the potential for tunnel collapses and land subsidence (Betournay, 2011). It involves large-scale movements of waste rock and vegetation, similar to open pit mining. Additionally, like most traditional forms of mining, underground mining can release toxic compounds into the air and water. As water takes on harmful concentrations of minerals and heavy metals, it becomes a contaminant. This contaminated water can pollute the region surrounding the mine and beyond (Miranda, Blanco-Uribe Q., Hernandez, Ochoa G., & Yerena, 1998). Mercury is commonly used in as an amalgamating agent to facilitate the recovery of some precious ores (Miranda et al., 1998). Mercury tailings then become a major source of concern, and improper disposal can lead to contamination of the atmosphere and neighboring bodies of water. Most underground mining operations increase sedimentation in nearby rivers through their use of hydraulic pumps and suction dredges; blasting with hydraulic pumps removes ecologically valuable topsoil containing seed banks, making it difficult for vegetation to recover (Miranda et al., 1998). Deforestation due to mining leads to the disintegration of biomes and contributes to the effects of erosion....

It's Sunday Night

Loretta Lynn, the Queen of Country Music, is still selling records and touring at the age of 84.

Her genres have always been country, honky-tonk, Americana and gospel.

Life in Van Lear, Kentucky in the 1900's working for the Consolidated Coal Company

"Hole In the Ground" by Larry Cordle 

Country music serves a cultural purpose rather than a strictly artistic method of entertainment. It brings about an understanding of life. The music taps the emotions of people and creates heroes in desperate lives.

Coal Miner's Daughter was written and performed by Loretta Lynn (click here for official website - thank you)

Well, I was borned a coal miner's daughter
In a cabin, on a hill in Butcher Holler
We were poor but we had love,
That's the one thing that daddy made sure of
He shoveled coal to make a poor man's dollar

My daddy worked all night in the Van Lear coal mines
All day long in the field a hoin' corn
Mommy rocked the babies at night
And read the Bible by the coal oil light
And ever' thing would start all over come break of morn

Daddy loved and raised eight kids on a miner's pay
Mommy scrubbed our clothes on a washboard ever' day
Why I've seen her fingers bleed
To complain, there was no need
She'd smile in mommy's understanding way

In the summertime we didn't have shoes to wear
But in the wintertime we'd all get a brand new pair
From a mail order catalog
Money made from selling a hog
Daddy always managed to get the money somewhere

Yeah, I'm proud to be a coal miner's daughter
I remember well, the well where I drew water
The work we done was hard
At night we'd sleep 'cause we were tired
I never thought of ever leaving Butcher Holler

Well a lot of things have changed since a way back then
And it's so good to be back home again
Not much left but the floor, nothing lives here anymore
Except the memory of a coal miner's daughter

Kevin Gilbertt is live at the Standing Rock Indian land. (click here)

This is live.

Currently watching a prayer circle for the women the Four Hundred Nations.





Below is the video by Kevin Gilbertt six days ago. The petroleum industry are blasting the people with water in freezing temperatures. This is a human rights violation. There is no place where the Native Americans can run to for warmth immediately. The petroleum industry does not care about human life or the natural world. This is a demonstration of proof.

This is the strategy that the Trump campaign used against the American people.

It is a request for money. This is Michigan's pandering. As best as I can tell this went out state wide. 

First the campaign tells the reader what to think and then asks who they think is a better candidate. 

It was in a ballot format and the mailing occurred a few times during the summer. 

When I look at this it is pandering to the reader to answer the form regardless of donation. when these opinion surveys were received the campaign could adjust their message to prevent objection. It also serves as a basis of conversation as a focal point. All anyone has to ask is, "Did you get that ballot form from the Trump campaign?" It is silly to say this after the fact, but, the first time I saw it I new the campaign was playing games with the electorate and that it would work.

And, yes, that is one of my suitcases.