This week, in author Willie Carver, Jr.’s new book, he reconsiders a negative childhood experience with a neighborhood girl who might have just been looking for a friend. Also, a southwestern Virginia community rang the alarm after more and more of its children were diagnosed with cancer. A local journalist is trying to unravel the cause. And, the city of Asheville has a new crusading reporter. He’s a puppet.
Energy Secretary Rick Perry toured a modern and relatively clean coal-fired power plant in West Virginia in order to tout the benefits of coal in a competitive energy market. But the secretary’s comments generated some controversy.
The coal industry has been feeling the heat from natural gas as electric utilities switch to that cleaner, cheaper fuel. When asked how coal can compete, Perry said it was a simple matter of economics.
“Here’s a little economics lesson, that supply and demand,” Perry said. “You put the supply out there and the demand will follow that.”
That left some economists puzzled: Simply supplying a product does not West Virginia University economics professor Brian Lego guessed that Perry was likely talking about the 19th century theory known asSay’s Law but not quite getting it right.
“The description that the secretary provided was very…” Lego struggled for a polite way to put it, “I don’t want to use the word inadequate, but incomplete at least.”
Perry’s comment caught the attention of energy market watchers and the gaffe was soontrending on Twitter.
Credit Glynis Board
/
Longview Power faced years of community opposition and bankruptcy.
Perry’s visit toLongview Powerand a nearby coal mine was intended to highlight energy infrastructure needs and what Perry calls “clean coal” technology.
According to Longview, their plant is the cleanest coal-burning power plant in North America, with some of the lowest emissions. However, it does not capture greenhouse gas emissions of CO2, something generally thought of as part of“clean coal” technology.
The company that owns the plant has had its own economic troubles,emerging from bankruptcy just two years ago. Officials say the facility’s high efficiency helps make it competitive in a tough market.
Add WVPB as a preferred source on Google to see more from our team
This week, coal power can be expensive. Utilities run coal-fired power plants harder in the winter and summer when demand is high. Also, two films made in West Virginia shot to the top of Netflix’s streaming charts. The state wants to encourage even more movies to be made in West Virginia by helping keep production costs down. And, an Eastern Kentucky pharmacist serves vegan food for the holidays.
On this West Virginia Week, the state supreme court decides on vaccine requirements, the office of miners health and safety releases its findings about recent accidents and money talks on Planet Money.
This week, "Our Common Nature" is a new podcast from WNYC. It features cellist Yo-Yo Ma and producer Ana González, as they explore America and talk to folks like West Virginia coal miners. We follow Yo-Yo and his team as they venture into Appalachia. And we talk with González about meeting people where they are.
A lawsuit filed by kitty litter industry group has been further delayed by the U.S. Department of Labor’s continued requests that the case be temporarily suspended for 60-day periods.
