Robert E. Murray
Encyclopedia
Robert E. Murray is an American
CEO of Murray Energy Corporation, a mining corporation based in Pepper Pike, Ohio, near Cleveland. He is one of the largest independent operators of coal mines in the United States.
in a mining accident when Murray was 9 years old. As a miner himself, Murray experienced two accidents on the job. He currently lives in Chagrin Falls, Ohio
with his wife, Brenda Lou Moore. They have three grown children.
Murray says that following his father's accident, he lied about his age so he could work in a coal mine at the age of 16 and provide for his family. Murray says that he suffered through several mining accidents, including on one occasion being hit in the head with an 18 feet (5.5 m) beam made of steel
. Murray says he has one scar running from his head down his back from a separate accident and at one time was trapped in a dark mine for 12 hours before being rescued.
He was valedictorian of the Bethesda
(OH) High School class of 1957. Murray received a Bachelor of Engineering in Mining from Ohio State University
and completed the advanced management program at the Harvard Graduate School of Business. He is a registered Professional Engineer and private pilot, as well as a member of the boards of directors of the National Mining Association
, American Coal Foundation, National Coal Council, Ohio Coal Association, and Pennsylvania Coal Association. Murray is past president and a trustee of the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers
, Inc., and the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration, Inc., as well as past president of The Rocky Mountain Coal Mining Institute.
He began his mining career at the North American Coal Corporation
. He served in a variety of capacities at NACC, winning election to Vice President of Operations in 1969. From 1974 to 1983, Murray was President of NACC's Western Division and presided over four of its subsidiaries in North Dakota
. In 1974, a strike took place at the Indian Head Mine in Zap
, which North American was attempting to close. In 1983, he became President and CEO of North American. In 1987, Murray was told by "someone to whom [he] didn't even report" that he was "done" at NACC. He later called the firing "the best thing ever to happen" to his career.
to meet the growing demand for electricity in some parts of the country was not a viable long-term solution. At the helm of Murray Energy, he began accumulating reserves that were strategically located near customers, near favorable transportation, and high in energy content (BTU per pound). Following this strategy, Murray Energy acquired reserves and expanded its operations in Southern Ohio, in Southwestern Pennsylvania, the Illinois Basin (Western Kentucky and Southern Illinois), and reserves and operations in Central Utah. One of Murray Energy's first acquisitions was the Powhatan No. 6 mine in Alledonia, Ohio
. The Powhatan mine is the only mine operated by a Murray Energy Corporation independent operating subsidiary that is unionized.
Today, Murray Energy Corporation produces approximately 30 million tons of bituminous coal
each year and employs approximately 3,000 people in the United States. In addition to its mining operations, Murray Energy owns and operates river, truck, and rail terminals on the Ohio River
; a rail loadout facility in Central Utah; and a diesel and mining equipment rebuild facility in West Virginia.
had been a part-owner for 12 months. Prior to the collapse, the Crandall Canyon Mine
had received only 64 violations and $12,000 in fines, magnitudes similar to other mines of this size in the United States. He says that the safety violations were trivial and included violations such as not having enough toilet paper in the restroom. However, some news agencies reported troubling violations at other of Murray's operations; CNN, for example, found that seven of Murray's 19 mines were underground and 4 of them had accident rates above the national average. CNN specifically cited Murray's Illinois Galatia mine, which had almost 3,500 safety citations in the prior two and a half years.
Murray claims that the Crandall Canyon Mine collapse was triggered by a 3.9 magnitude earthquake
, while government seismologists say the mine collapse was the cause of a coal mine bump
. Richard E. Stickler
, the government's top mine safety official said "It was not -- and I repeat, it was not -- a natural occurring earthquake."
Douglas S. Dreger, a seismologist at the University of California, Berkeley
, said in the July 2008 issue of Science
that his analysis strongly suggested that the mountain crumbled in two stages: After the pillars collapsed, giant, angled slabs of sandstone
above the mine abruptly shifted. When the mine collapse finally occurred, it was so powerful that it registered as a 3.9 earthquake.
Although the widely used industry practice of retreat mining
is believed by some observers to be a cause of the mine's 2007 collapse, Murray insists the process was not responsible.
On July 24, 2008, the U.S. government's Mine Safety and Health Administration
(MSHA) announced its highest penalty for coal mine safety violations, $1.85 million, for the collapse. The government fined Genwal Resources $1.34 million "for violations that directly contributed to the deaths of six miners last year," plus nearly $300,000 for other violations. The government also levied a $220,000 fine against a mining consultant, Agapito Associates, "for faulty analysis of the mine's design."
Following the Crandall Canyon tragedy, the Mine Safety and Health Administration also was faulted by its parent agency, the U.S. Department of Labor, both for lax oversight before the collapse and for its handling of a haphazard rescue effort that left three more people dead. An independent review of MSHA’s role in Crandall Canyon by retired MSHA managers Earnest Teaster and Joseph Pavlovich, found that the agency failed to properly consider bounce activity in the mine prior to approving the mining plan, failed to properly evaluate the roof control plan and failed to follow established mine rescue protocols at all times at Crandall Canyon Mine. Specifically, the authors wrote that, “MSHA’s failure to adequately evaluate the roof control plans contributed to the August 6 accident.” An independent review of MSHA’s actions at Crandall Canyon also faults the agency for failing to control access to the mine, concluding that “MSHA improperly allowed media representatives and family members to enter the rescue area, and allowed an unlimited number of persons underground during the rescue operation.”
In addition to serving on the board of directors of the National Mining Association
, Murray actively lobbies for pro-industry legislation through his company's Political Action Committee
. In 2001, he testified on behalf of the NMA before a House Ways and Means
subcommittee in favor of proposed tax cuts.
Since 2005, the Murray Energy PAC has donated over $150,000 to Republican candidates, including donations totaling $30,000 to Senate candidates such as George Allen
, Sam Brownback
, and Katherine Harris
. The Ohio Valley Coal PAC, another group affiliated with Murray Energy, donated $10,000 for George W. Bush
's 2000 Presidential campaign.
In the wake of 2006's Sago Mine disaster
, lawmakers in West Virginia
and Ohio
proposed legislation requiring mine workers to wear emergency tracking devices. Murray lobbied against the laws, calling them "extremely misguided." He said that politicians were rushing to pass laws and thus "playing politics with the safety of my employees." Murray said that rather than create "knee-jerk" state laws after the disaster, such as in the case of West Virginia, which passed the law in less than one day after it was proposed, the federal government should host a panel which would study the industry and make recommendations for safety measures.
Murray claimed that the federal government should be involved for uniform standards and because tension between unions and companies created difficulty in reaching private agreement on safety standards. Murray maintained that the personal tracking devices to be mandated in the state laws, called PEDs, did not work under certain common mining conditions (such as below 600 feet (182.9 m) in depth), and better devices needed to be developed in order to effectively guard miners in case of accident. He said, "The will is there. Unfortunately, the technology isn't."
Murray has stated that he supported federal mandates for drug test
ing and fire prevention.
. In June 2007, he told the United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works
that "the science of global warming is suspect." He also wrote in a May 2007 MarketWatch
editorial: "The actual environmental risk associated with carbon emission
s is highly speculative."
In a 2007 speech to the New York Coal Trade Association, Murray called Al Gore
"the shaman of global gloom and doom" and added "he is more dangerous than his global warming."
Murray said during the speech:
Murray is a particular opponent of proposed global warming legislation in Congress, saying:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
CEO of Murray Energy Corporation, a mining corporation based in Pepper Pike, Ohio, near Cleveland. He is one of the largest independent operators of coal mines in the United States.
Personal details
Murray is a fourth-generation coal miner. His father was paralyzedParalysis
Paralysis is loss of muscle function for one or more muscles. Paralysis can be accompanied by a loss of feeling in the affected area if there is sensory damage as well as motor. A study conducted by the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, suggests that about 1 in 50 people have been diagnosed...
in a mining accident when Murray was 9 years old. As a miner himself, Murray experienced two accidents on the job. He currently lives in Chagrin Falls, Ohio
Chagrin Falls, Ohio
Chagrin Falls is a village in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. It is a suburb of Cleveland in the Northeast Ohio region, the 14th largest Combined Statistical Area nationwide. The village was established and has grown around a natural waterfall on the Chagrin River. As of the 2010 census,...
with his wife, Brenda Lou Moore. They have three grown children.
Murray says that following his father's accident, he lied about his age so he could work in a coal mine at the age of 16 and provide for his family. Murray says that he suffered through several mining accidents, including on one occasion being hit in the head with an 18 feet (5.5 m) beam made of steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
. Murray says he has one scar running from his head down his back from a separate accident and at one time was trapped in a dark mine for 12 hours before being rescued.
He was valedictorian of the Bethesda
Bethesda, Ohio
Bethesda is a village in Belmont County, Ohio, United States. It is part of the Wheeling, West Virginia Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,413 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Bethesda is located at ....
(OH) High School class of 1957. Murray received a Bachelor of Engineering in Mining from Ohio State University
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
and completed the advanced management program at the Harvard Graduate School of Business. He is a registered Professional Engineer and private pilot, as well as a member of the boards of directors of the National Mining Association
National Mining Association
The National Mining Association , is a trade organization that lists itself as the voice of the mining industry in Washington, D.C. NMA was formed in 1995, and has more than 325 corporate members.-History:...
, American Coal Foundation, National Coal Council, Ohio Coal Association, and Pennsylvania Coal Association. Murray is past president and a trustee of the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers
American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers
The American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers is a professional body for mining and metallurgy, with 90,000 members. It was founded in 1871 by 22 mining engineers in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, United States, being one of the first national engineering societies in the...
, Inc., and the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration, Inc., as well as past president of The Rocky Mountain Coal Mining Institute.
He began his mining career at the North American Coal Corporation
North American Coal Corporation
North American Coal Corporation is an American coal mining and mining services company. The company, now held as the main subsidiary of NACCO, is headquartered in Dallas, Texas and operates coal mines in North Dakota, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas...
. He served in a variety of capacities at NACC, winning election to Vice President of Operations in 1969. From 1974 to 1983, Murray was President of NACC's Western Division and presided over four of its subsidiaries in North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
. In 1974, a strike took place at the Indian Head Mine in Zap
Zap, North Dakota
As of the census of 2000, there were 231 people, 101 households, and 68 families residing in the city. The population density was 221.8 people per square mile . There were 129 housing units at an average density of 123.8 per square mile...
, which North American was attempting to close. In 1983, he became President and CEO of North American. In 1987, Murray was told by "someone to whom [he] didn't even report" that he was "done" at NACC. He later called the firing "the best thing ever to happen" to his career.
Murray Energy
Murray started his company in 1988 with the purchase of a single continuous mining operation with an annual output of 1 million tons per year. Murray Energy Corporation's strategy involves acquiring high sulfur reserves and aiming to be the low-cost producer in primary coal-sourcing regions of the United States. This strategy was based on Murray's belief that the transportation of low-sulfur thousands of miles from the Powder River BasinPowder River Basin
The Powder River Basin is a geologic region in southeast Montana and northeast Wyoming, about east to west and north to south, known for its coal deposits. The region supplies about 40 percent of coal in the United States. It is both a topographic drainage and geologic structural basin...
to meet the growing demand for electricity in some parts of the country was not a viable long-term solution. At the helm of Murray Energy, he began accumulating reserves that were strategically located near customers, near favorable transportation, and high in energy content (BTU per pound). Following this strategy, Murray Energy acquired reserves and expanded its operations in Southern Ohio, in Southwestern Pennsylvania, the Illinois Basin (Western Kentucky and Southern Illinois), and reserves and operations in Central Utah. One of Murray Energy's first acquisitions was the Powhatan No. 6 mine in Alledonia, Ohio
Alledonia, Ohio
Alledonia is an unincorporated community in central Washington Township, Belmont County, Ohio, United States. Although it is unincorporated, it has a post office, with the ZIP code of 43902. It lies along State Route 148....
. The Powhatan mine is the only mine operated by a Murray Energy Corporation independent operating subsidiary that is unionized.
Today, Murray Energy Corporation produces approximately 30 million tons of bituminous coal
Bituminous coal
Bituminous coal or black coal is a relatively soft coal containing a tarlike substance called bitumen. It is of higher quality than lignite coal but of poorer quality than Anthracite...
each year and employs approximately 3,000 people in the United States. In addition to its mining operations, Murray Energy owns and operates river, truck, and rail terminals on the Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
; a rail loadout facility in Central Utah; and a diesel and mining equipment rebuild facility in West Virginia.
Crandall Canyon Mine collapse
Murray and his companies received national attention in August 2007 when six miners were trapped at the Crandall Canyon Mine in Utah, of which Murray Energy independent operating subsidiary UtahAmerican EnergyUtahAmerican Energy
UtahAmerican Energy, Inc. , is a bituminous coal underground coal mine and lignite surface mining company, headquartered in Sandy, Utah. UtahAmerican is a subsidiary of Cleveland, Ohio based Murray Energy Corporation. UtahAmerican is a company with approximately $65.1 million in annual sales, and...
had been a part-owner for 12 months. Prior to the collapse, the Crandall Canyon Mine
Crandall Canyon Mine
The Crandall Canyon Mine, formerly Genwal Mine, was an underground bituminous coal mine in northwestern Emery County, Utah.The mine made headline news when six miners were trapped by a collapse in August 2007. Ten days later, three rescue workers were killed by a subsequent collapse...
had received only 64 violations and $12,000 in fines, magnitudes similar to other mines of this size in the United States. He says that the safety violations were trivial and included violations such as not having enough toilet paper in the restroom. However, some news agencies reported troubling violations at other of Murray's operations; CNN, for example, found that seven of Murray's 19 mines were underground and 4 of them had accident rates above the national average. CNN specifically cited Murray's Illinois Galatia mine, which had almost 3,500 safety citations in the prior two and a half years.
Murray claims that the Crandall Canyon Mine collapse was triggered by a 3.9 magnitude earthquake
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
, while government seismologists say the mine collapse was the cause of a coal mine bump
Coal mine bump
A coal mine bump is a term used to describe a seismic jolt occurring within a mine. The term refers to the explosive collapse of a wall or one or more support pillars, sometimes called a rock burst...
. Richard E. Stickler
Dick Stickler
Richard E. Stickler served as acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Mine Safety and Health Administration between October 16, 2006 and October 21, 2009....
, the government's top mine safety official said "It was not -- and I repeat, it was not -- a natural occurring earthquake."
Douglas S. Dreger, a seismologist at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
, said in the July 2008 issue of Science
Science (journal)
Science is the academic journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and is one of the world's top scientific journals....
that his analysis strongly suggested that the mountain crumbled in two stages: After the pillars collapsed, giant, angled slabs of sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
above the mine abruptly shifted. When the mine collapse finally occurred, it was so powerful that it registered as a 3.9 earthquake.
Although the widely used industry practice of retreat mining
Retreat mining
Retreat mining is a term used to reference the final phase of an underground mining technique known as room and pillar mining. This involves excavating a room or chamber while leaving behind pillars of material for support. This excavation is carried out in a pattern advancing away from the...
is believed by some observers to be a cause of the mine's 2007 collapse, Murray insists the process was not responsible.
On July 24, 2008, the U.S. government's Mine Safety and Health Administration
Mine Safety and Health Administration
The Mine Safety and Health Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Labor which administers the provisions of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 to enforce compliance with mandatory safety and health standards as a means to eliminate fatal accidents, to reduce...
(MSHA) announced its highest penalty for coal mine safety violations, $1.85 million, for the collapse. The government fined Genwal Resources $1.34 million "for violations that directly contributed to the deaths of six miners last year," plus nearly $300,000 for other violations. The government also levied a $220,000 fine against a mining consultant, Agapito Associates, "for faulty analysis of the mine's design."
Following the Crandall Canyon tragedy, the Mine Safety and Health Administration also was faulted by its parent agency, the U.S. Department of Labor, both for lax oversight before the collapse and for its handling of a haphazard rescue effort that left three more people dead. An independent review of MSHA’s role in Crandall Canyon by retired MSHA managers Earnest Teaster and Joseph Pavlovich, found that the agency failed to properly consider bounce activity in the mine prior to approving the mining plan, failed to properly evaluate the roof control plan and failed to follow established mine rescue protocols at all times at Crandall Canyon Mine. Specifically, the authors wrote that, “MSHA’s failure to adequately evaluate the roof control plans contributed to the August 6 accident.” An independent review of MSHA’s actions at Crandall Canyon also faults the agency for failing to control access to the mine, concluding that “MSHA improperly allowed media representatives and family members to enter the rescue area, and allowed an unlimited number of persons underground during the rescue operation.”
Political and charitable activity
In 2009, Murray Energy donated $20,000 to support the development of a state-of-the-art mine training facility at West Virginia University and $10,000 to support the construction of a similar facility at Southeastern Illinois College. Murray also made a personal gift of $1 million to the West Virginia University Research Trust Fund—the largest single donation in the fund's history—and the university established the Robert E. Murray Chairmanship of Mining Engineering in his honor.In addition to serving on the board of directors of the National Mining Association
National Mining Association
The National Mining Association , is a trade organization that lists itself as the voice of the mining industry in Washington, D.C. NMA was formed in 1995, and has more than 325 corporate members.-History:...
, Murray actively lobbies for pro-industry legislation through his company's Political Action Committee
Political action committee
In the United States, a political action committee, or PAC, is the name commonly given to a private group, regardless of size, organized to elect political candidates or to advance the outcome of a political issue or legislation. Legally, what constitutes a "PAC" for purposes of regulation is a...
. In 2001, he testified on behalf of the NMA before a House Ways and Means
United States House Committee on Ways and Means
The Committee of Ways and Means is the chief tax-writing committee of the United States House of Representatives. Members of the Ways and Means Committee are not allowed to serve on any other House Committees unless they apply for a waiver from their party's congressional leadership...
subcommittee in favor of proposed tax cuts.
Since 2005, the Murray Energy PAC has donated over $150,000 to Republican candidates, including donations totaling $30,000 to Senate candidates such as George Allen
George Allen (U.S. politician)
George Felix Allen is a former United States Senator from the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the son of former NFL head coach George Allen. Allen served Virginia in the state legislature, as the 67th Governor, and in both bodies of the U.S. Congress, winning election to the Senate in 2000...
, Sam Brownback
Sam Brownback
Samuel Dale "Sam" Brownback is the 46th and current Governor of Kansas. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a U.S. Senator from Kansas from 1996 to 2011, and as a U.S. Representative for Kansas's 2nd congressional district from 1995 to 1996...
, and Katherine Harris
Katherine Harris
Katherine Harris is an American Republican politician, former Secretary of State of Florida, and former member of the United States House of Representatives. Harris won the 2002 election to represent Florida's 13th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives. She held that post...
. The Ohio Valley Coal PAC, another group affiliated with Murray Energy, donated $10,000 for George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
's 2000 Presidential campaign.
In the wake of 2006's Sago Mine disaster
Sago Mine disaster
The Sago Mine disaster was a coal mine explosion on January 2, 2006, in the Sago Mine in Sago, in Upshur County, West Virginia, USA, near the county seat of Buckhannon. The blast and collapse trapped 13 miners for nearly two days; one miner survived...
, lawmakers in West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
and Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
proposed legislation requiring mine workers to wear emergency tracking devices. Murray lobbied against the laws, calling them "extremely misguided." He said that politicians were rushing to pass laws and thus "playing politics with the safety of my employees." Murray said that rather than create "knee-jerk" state laws after the disaster, such as in the case of West Virginia, which passed the law in less than one day after it was proposed, the federal government should host a panel which would study the industry and make recommendations for safety measures.
Murray claimed that the federal government should be involved for uniform standards and because tension between unions and companies created difficulty in reaching private agreement on safety standards. Murray maintained that the personal tracking devices to be mandated in the state laws, called PEDs, did not work under certain common mining conditions (such as below 600 feet (182.9 m) in depth), and better devices needed to be developed in order to effectively guard miners in case of accident. He said, "The will is there. Unfortunately, the technology isn't."
Murray has stated that he supported federal mandates for drug test
Drug test
A drug test is a technical analysis of a biological specimen – for example urine, hair, blood, sweat, or oral fluid / saliva – to determine the presence or absence of specified parent drugs or their metabolites...
ing and fire prevention.
Global warming
An engineer by profession, Murray has been an outspoken critic of the scientific opinion on climate changeScientific opinion on climate change
The predominant scientific opinion on climate change is that the Earth is in an ongoing phase of global warming primarily caused by an enhanced greenhouse effect due to the anthropogenic release of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases...
. In June 2007, he told the United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works
United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works
The United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works is responsible for dealing with matters related to the environment and infrastructure.-Members, 112th Congress:...
that "the science of global warming is suspect." He also wrote in a May 2007 MarketWatch
MarketWatch
MarketWatch operates a financial information website that provides business news, analysis and stock market data to some 6 million people. MarketWatch offers personal finance news and advice, tools for investors and access to industry research. Along with its flagship website, the company operates...
editorial: "The actual environmental risk associated with carbon emission
Carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere
The concentration of carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere is approximately 392 ppm by volume and rose by 2.0 ppm/yr during 2000–2009. 40 years earlier, the rise was only 0.9 ppm/yr, showing not only increasing concentrations, but also a rapid acceleration of concentrations...
s is highly speculative."
In a 2007 speech to the New York Coal Trade Association, Murray called Al Gore
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
"the shaman of global gloom and doom" and added "he is more dangerous than his global warming."
Murray said during the speech:
"Some wealthy elitists in our country, who cannot tell fact from fiction, can afford an Olympian detachment from the impacts of draconian climate change policy. For them, the jobs and dreams destroyed as a result will be nothing more than statistics and the cares of other people. These consequences are abstractions to them, but they are not to me, as I can name many of the thousands of the American citizens whose lives will be destroyed by these elitists' ill-conceived ‘global goofiness' campaigns."
Murray is a particular opponent of proposed global warming legislation in Congress, saying:
"We produce a product that is essential to the standard of living of every American because our coal produces 52% of the energy in America today, and it is the lowest cost energy, costing 1/3 to 1/4 the cost of energy from natural gasNatural gasNatural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
, nuclearNuclear powerNuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
and renewable energyRenewable energyRenewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...
resources. And without coal to manufacture electricity our products will not compete in the global marketplaceEconomic globalizationEconomic globalization refers to increasing economic interdependence of national economies across the world through a rapid increase in cross-border movement of goods, service, technology and capital...
against foreign countries because our manufacturers depend on coal, low cost electricityElectricityElectricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
and people on fixed incomes will not be able to pay their electric bills. Every one of those global warming bills that have been introduced into CongressUnited States CongressThe United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
today eliminates the coal industry and will increase your electric rates, four to five fold."