Peabody Coal's Bankruptcy: Invisible Hand Pushes Peabody Under

authordefault
on

This is a guest post by ClimateDenierRoundup crossposted from Daily Kos.
 
The worldโ€™s largest privately owned coal company, Peabody Energy Corporation, filed for bankruptcy this week. This is the latest in a string of big bankruptcies in the industry, as Alpha, Arch and Patriot Coal have all gone under recently. As Alpha and Archโ€™s filings both revealed funding for anti-climate activists, perhaps Peabodyโ€™s filing will reveal more information about the companyโ€™s attempt toportray coal as an answer to poverty.

Regardless, this bankruptcy has already triggered a fresh wave of attacks about President Obamaโ€™s supposed โ€œWar on Coal.โ€ Bizarrely, one column at the American Thinker contradicted itself by saying that the โ€œwar on coal claimed its most significant victimโ€ before concluding that regulations โ€œare not playing a decisive role in Peabodyโ€™s troubles.โ€ As usual, the reality is more complicated than the catchphrase.

Since climate regulations arenโ€™t to blame, what is? With a single sentence, Kate Sheppard explains the situation: โ€œWhatโ€™s driving the coal industry into bankruptcy is the free market โ€” competition from cheaper, more abundant natural gas and renewable energy.โ€

It would stand to reason, then, that the various denier groups that glorify the free market would hail this bankruptcy as a triumph of capitalismโ€™s omniscient invisible hand at work.
Instead, theyโ€™ll probably ignore reality and stick to their โ€œWar on Coalโ€ talking points, since theyโ€™re as intellectually bankrupt as these coal companies are literally bankrupt.

Image credit: A protest outside of Peabody Coal in St. Louis, by tolkien1914 via Flickr CC.
 

authordefault

Related Posts

on

Importing fracked gas during a trade war undermines Canadaโ€™s energy security, environmentalists warn premier.

Importing fracked gas during a trade war undermines Canadaโ€™s energy security, environmentalists warn premier.
on

The multi-millionaire Brexit funder has claimed โ€œCO2 and climate change is the ultimate hoaxโ€.

The multi-millionaire Brexit funder has claimed โ€œCO2 and climate change is the ultimate hoaxโ€.
on

The appointment of Filip Turek to a new rapporteur position is a โ€œdisasterโ€ for the integrity of EU climate policy, say campaigners.

The appointment of Filip Turek to a new rapporteur position is a โ€œdisasterโ€ for the integrity of EU climate policy, say campaigners.
on

On stage at a PragerU fundraiser, the Alberta premier, under fire for allegedly encouraging U.S. leaders to influence Canadian politics, said 'I come in peace'.

On stage at a PragerU fundraiser, the Alberta premier, under fire for allegedly encouraging U.S. leaders to influence Canadian politics, said 'I come in peace'.