UK Economic model is broken- and our leaders know it

Aditya Chakrabortty

Britain’s economic model is broken: this is our first post-crash election

Pundits pretend that Corbyn and May are poles apart. But both understand that the financial crisis changed everything – and a new ideological era is beginning.

 

'' The Conservative manifesto is closer to Labour’s than at any point since the second world war ''  

To see what I mean, open Theresa May’s manifesto. Straight away, she gets stuck into the “burning injustices” of modern Britain, demands “a modern industrial strategy” and a country “in which work pays, with a higher national living wage and proper rights and protections at work”. Just five paragraphs in, and she’s using language that would have made Gordon Brown stutter. This is the same Tory prime minister who wants a cap on energy prices, talks about “a new centre ground”, and investigates the Victorian practices of the gig economy’s overlords.

Something bigger is happening here than the usual Punch v Judy. Kevin Farnsworth, a social scientist at the University of York, has put the manifestos for the two main parties from every election since 1945 through a cutting-edge piece of software – then asked it to assess how alike they were in concepts and phrases. The result? The Conservative manifesto is closer to Labour’s than at any point since the second world war.

Who should I vote for? The UK election manifestos compared

A summary of the key pledges made by political parties in the run-up to the UK general election

           

Saying ain’t doing, of course. To see how little a promise can be worth, just ask Nick Clegg about tuition fees. Yet manifestos remain the clearest summaries of what each party is thinking. And in 2017, May’s Conservatives are a world away from the Cameroons. No more wish fulness about a “big society”, nor any bluster about a “long-term economic plan”.

May’s Conservatives worry about fairness, left-behind regions and depressed wages – just like Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour. I can critique her solutions – indeed, give me a minute and I shall – but that one fact marks a massive break with previous elections.

Unlike when David Cameron battled Ed Miliband, the country this pair of party leaders see is more alike than it is different. Both Corbyn and May look out on a workforce that is still poorer than it was in 2008; provinces and nations whose economies are mere feedstock for the spivs up from London; and a public deemed too uncouth for the tailored professionals of Westminster.Let me put it another way: this is Britain’s first post-crash election. Over the decade since the collapse of Northern Rock, one or both parties have pretended that things are basically fine; that the game isn’t rigged; that a few tweaks will fix the clearly malfunctioning economic model. This election is the first in which both party leaders drop the happy-clappy, catch up with just how bad things have got – and, at last, grope around for fixes.The point at which the false beliefs of Westminster bumped into the solid reality of Britain will be marked up as June 2016, when the de-industrialised and disenfranchised communities of south Wales and the north-east delivered Brexit for the coffee-morning pensioners and bug-eyed libertarians of the south. Of all the contenders for the Tory leadership, May was the first to see that the vote was a register of popular discontent.

It takes decades for an ideology to die – but among the power elites of London, you can finally see it happening. What the cultural theorist Jeremy Gilbert calls “The Long 90s” – the decade and a half that began with the fall of the Berlin Wall and ended with the collapse of RBS – – and that spanned Tony Blair, The Fast Show, garden decking, golden rules for public spending and an ever-growing finance sector – is coming to a close.

What replaces it is a much harder question. It took a Miliband for Labour to fess up that Britain’s economic model – for which, under Blair and Brown, it was heavily responsible – was broken. May is clearly way out in front of her party, and the confusion is daubed all over her manifesto. The Tories want to stand up for the little guy, while cutting taxes for big corporations: to invest more, even while sticking to an austerity programme. May clearly wants to leave open the option to raise taxes, while Michael Fallon believes that option should be shut down – now..

 Mayism could mean Brexit Britain renaming itself Poundland – cheap goods and cheap workers – or it might mean a reversion to some kind of one-nation Toryism. Her party just doesn’t know. Were it not for the Tories’ slim majority, their crisis would be far more exposed. The sofa class don’t do political economy, more’s the pity, but if they did they’d see the contradictions of Conservatism in 2017. The party of capital is now pursuing a policy – hard Brexit – hated by capital. The political arm of the City is about to rip a hole through the City. All these paradoxes are given almost physical representation on our tellies every night by May herself – a populist who doesn’t actually like people.

As a non-believer in New Labour, Corbyn has no such ideological awkwardness, while John McDonnell is one of the few people in the Labour party who didn’t subcontract out their economic thinking to Brown and Ed Balls. But still, their team admit they have a way to go in rethinking Britain’s economy – and they are having to do so against a famously hostile parliamentary party. The result is Corbyn’s manifesto, which is chiefly remarkable for its unabashed defence of basic social democratic values. It’s the programme you imagine Brown would like to have delivered – if only he hadn’t been so busy triangulating.

 

But behind the scenes, the party is doing much deeper thinking. I have seen an internal Labour report commissioned by McDonnell. It forms one part of what could be a far more radical programme after Thursday night. Some of the lines in it will give the Daily Mail stories for days – such as calling for a overhaul of the BBC trust (which is “dominated by appointees from the corporate and financial sectors”) and hundreds of millions in public money to be spent on establishing workers co-ops. For the sympathetic reader, however, it contains some of the most imaginative thinking around economic democracy to come out of the party in decades (not saying much, sadly). In that, it sits alongside the speeches made by Corbyn’s team last week about the need for “industrial patriotism”, and to give public backing to new sectors.

All of this is miles away from exit polls and ballot counts in draughty school halls. But the bottom line is this: anyone who hoped 2016, the year of Trump and Brexit, was a one-off in political volatility is about to be mightily disappointed. What lies ahead is a long period of flux as both Labour and Tories grapple with what a post-crash Britain should do. It will be rough and bumpy – but necessary for their survival. Although it may not look that way from the studio sofas.

Source: The Guardian UK

Trump weighs in on Qatar rift with Gulf neighbours

US President Donald Trump throws his weight behind efforts to isolate Qatar over claims it supports 'extremism'.

06 Jun 2017 18:31 GMT

 

Trump's statement contradicts US government's call for a dialogue to solve the Gulf crisis [Reuters]

US President Donald Trump has weighed on the ongoing diplomatic dispute with Qatar and neighbouring Gulf countries led by Saudi Arabia, saying his trip to the Middle East is "already paying off".

In a series of posts on Twitter on Tuesday, Trump referenced Qatar when he said leaders of the Middle East have stated that they "would take a hard line on funding extremism".

"During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar - look!" Trump said.

"So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off. They said they would take a hard line on funding......extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!"

The Qatari government has no immediate response to Trump's tweet.

Meanwhile, the Pentagon said it is grateful to Qatar for support of US military presence and "enduring commitment to regional security".

Qatar and Saudi alongside five other countries are currently locked in a diplomatic dispute, over Doha's role in the region.  

Conflicting US message

Al Jazeera's Patty Culhane, reporting from Washington DC, said the latest post of Trump only complicates effort to diffuse the situation.

"This is not just a tweet," Culhane said, adding that it could signal a US foreign policy shift towards a Gulf ally, which hosts the largest American base in the Middle East.

"We will be watching. I can tell you from the defence department perspective, from the Secretary of State perspective, they don't want this [dispute] to continue.

US says Trump 'committed to resolving' Gulf Arab diplomatic crisis

"They want the sides to de-escalate. This couple of tweets does exactly the opposite."

Our correspondent also said that Trump's latest statement shows that he is not in line with people in his own administration.

"Just because the president tweets something it does not mean that it is changing the foreign policy. That may sound strange but thats where we at in this new era of social media."

On Monday, Dana Shell Smith, US ambassador to Qatar, posted an embassy statement saying that the "US supports Qatar's efforts in combating terrorism financing, and appreciates its role in coalition against ISIL."

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had also issued a statement encouraging the parties involved in the Gulf dispute to sit down and address their differences.

Only last May 21, Trump met with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani in Saudi Arabia.

During the meeting, Al Jazeera's Culhane reported, the US leader "bragged about how much military equipment the US sold" to Qatar.

"If you believe that they are the sole funder of extremism, it seems unlikely that you would want to supply them weapons."

In 2015, the US sold an estimated $17bn worth of weapons to Qatar, representing 42.5 percent of total US arms sales that year.

On May 21, Trump met with leaders of the Middle East and its allies in Saudi Arabia [Reuters]

Source: Al Jazeera

 

Russia to sell missile system to NATO member Turkey

S-400 Triumph: Russia to sell missile system to NATO member Turkey

Russia and Turkey have agreed on all technical aspects of purchasing the S-400 Triumph, the world’s leading anti-ballistic missile system.  

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Negotiations have been taking place since 2016 and now both sides have to deal with the money matter as each missile system costs $500 million.

 

According to CEO of Rostec Corporation Sergey Chemezov, Ankara is ready to buy the S-400 Triumph with a loan if it’s granted by Moscow.

 

Meanwhile, Turkey also wants to get joint production of the anti-ballistic missile system on its territory. Yet Russia isn’t ready to agree on this issue.  

 

The S-400 Triumph (or SA-21 Growler) is capable of intercepting all types of warplanes and rockets, including fifth generation fighter jets and ballistic missiles, at a range of 400 km.

It’s also the only system in the world that can hit targets at heights ranging from five meters to 40 km.

Source: RIA Novosti

 

 

Woman rushed to hospital after being raped in north London park

Woman rushed to hospital after being raped in north London park

A woman was rushed to hospital after being raped in a park in north London, police said.

Officers and paramedics were scrambled to the scene in Camden Gardens shortly after 11pm on Sunday.

The victim, aged in her 40s, was rushed to a central London hospital with injuries that are not believed to be life-threatening.

The park was cordoned off while officers investigated the alleged incident. The crime scene remained in place on Monday morning.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “The victim is being supported by specialist officers.

“No arrests have been made. Enquiries continue.”

Source: ES

காஸ்மீர்- NIA raids: Resistance leaders’ meet thwarted

NIA raids: Resistance leaders’ meet thwarted

 

*Road leading to Geelani’s house blocked

*Mirwaiz under house arrest;

*Malik detained

*Trio calls for protest after Friday prayers

ABID BASHIR

Srinagar, Publish Date: Jun 6 2017 12:23AM

File Photo-NIA

Police thwarted on Monday a meeting of the Joint Resistance Leadership, who were scheduled to announce their response to the raids conducted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) during the past two days.

The leaders, Syed Ali Geelani, Yasin Malik and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, were scheduled to meet representatives of the business community also and later address a press conference at the Hyderpora residence of Geelani.

However, a big police contingent deployed outside Geelani’s residence did not let anyone to move towards his house.

Geelani has been confined to his residence for most part of the past seven years.

Mirwaiz had already been placed under house arrest at his Srinagar residence, while Malik was detained by police at his Maisuma residence.

Media advisor to Hurriyat (M) Advocate Shahidul Islam, whose house was raided by an NIA team, too had been placed under house arrest on Sunday.

NIA has claimed that it recovered cash and other valuables during these raids on the residences of pro-freedom leaders, activists and a few businessmen in Delhi, Haryana, Jammu and Srinagar.

A Hurriyat Conference (G) spokesman said that several other leaders and activists of the amalgam, including Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai, Peer Saif Ullah, Ayaz Akbar, Muhammad Altaf Shah, Raja Meraj u Din, Muhamad Ashraf Laya and Omer Adil Dar, were confined to their homes by government forces.

He said a posse of policemen entered the office of the Tehreek-e-Hurriyat, Geelani’s organization, which operates from his Hyderpora residence.

“We strongly condemn these arbitrary measures. These curbs and restrictions are unjustified and illogical,” the spokesman said in a statement.

Calling the restrictions as “state-sponsored terrorism”, the statement said that by choking space and strangulating genuine voices, the authorities are following their “fascist dogma, thus creating anarchy in state”.

A JKLF spokesman said that Malik spoke to a few reporters before his detention and told them that “police started an oppressive campaign against the leadership from Sunday evening”.

 “These arrests, house arrests and other oppressive measures are a glaring example of J&K being run according to martial law,” he said.

“It has become a custom of rulers to suppress every voice before it is raised and this suppression is naked fascism and state-sponsored terrorism,” the spokesman said.

Reacting to the arrests and curbs on the meeting, a Hurriyat Conference (M) spokesman said, “Mirwaiz was scheduled to attend the joint resistance meeting at Geelani’s residence. But the anti-Kashmiri state resorted to its usual tactic of curbing the leadership through force, once again showing that Kashmir is ruled by the forces’ might.”

 ‘PROTEST ON FRIDAY’

The resistance leadership has asked people to demonstrate after Friday prayers against the raids conducted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) during the past two days.

The call for the protest came after the government forces thwarted a meeting between the resistance leadership and business leaders who were scheduled to discuss the raids on Monday.

The NIA has claimed it recovered cash and other valuables during these raids, which began after a TV sting operation claimed that a few resistance leaders admitted to receiving funds from Pakistan for the resistance.

“Syed Ali Geelani continues to be under house arrest and all roads leading to his house were firmly sealed. Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was once again put under house arrest and Muhammad Yasin Malik was arrested and lodged in sub jail Kothi Bagh,” said a statement issued by the Joint Resistance Leadership.

“Not allowing the Joint Resistance Leadership to meet has become the norm for the state authorities who have to keep up the farce of normalcy through repression at the bidding of their masters in New Delhi, as they will be shown the door.”

“The leadership said post-Friday prayers, peaceful protest should be held across Kashmir against the witch-hunt, coercion and intimidation of resistance activists, leaders and members of the business community.”

The people will also protest, the statement said, against “India electronic media’s propaganda war against Kashmiris and its shameless attempt to discredit people’s freedom struggle”.

The joint leadership said the people and the leadership will continue to pursue their movement for the right to self-determination till it is achieved.

Referring to the raids being conducted by the NIA, the statement said, “Such moves to intimidate and harass pro-freedom leaders and activists is the government of India’s admission that it has not been able to politically defeat the people's struggle for freedom in J&K.”

“The government of India has completely failed in crushing the people's revolt, despite its largest military concentration in J&K which has unleashed a reign of terror and has been torturing the people for the past seven decades,” the statement said.

“Yet all repressive means and methods adopted to defeat or subdue the people and leadership’s unflinching resolve and commitment to their struggle for freedom have miserably failed. Kashmirs are defiant.  They have made up their mind that they will get their fundamental right even if they are killed, blinded, tortured, maimed, made to disappear, jailed, terrorized, harassed, beaten or humiliated ,” it added.

The Leadership said the people will not be “terrorized into submission”.

“The chief of the Indian army openly said that the army is here to instill fear in the people and his political colleagues in power endorsed that all is fair in war and it is the discretion of the army to take action as they deem fit in the war zone of Kashmir,” the statement said.

“After these brazen admissions of being at war with unarmed civilian population of Kashmir and ‘all being fair’ in such an unequal war, it comes as no surprise that this government can stoop to any level or employ any bullying means to intimidate pro-freedom activists and leaders and traders in order to shift focus from the people's revolt against forcible control,” the statement said.

The Leadership said the government of India was not interested in resolving the issue but had been “making efforts to malign and sideline the resistance leadership”.

“The high-decibel propaganda, rather vilification campaign against the people of Kashmir, leadership, business community, the youth and students now by Indian electronic media, whose interests are backed by the government of India and many of who are on the payroll of their agencies, is part of an aggressive strategy aimed at undermining and weakening the people's movement and distort the narrative of the Kashmir dispute,” the statement said.

The life for the pro-freedom leadership, activists and workers was never to be expected to be “a bed of roses” and they will be the targets of those suffering from the “arrogance of power”, the statement said.

“Incarceration, solitary confinements, detentions or worse is and will be their fate. They experience it daily. And like those they lead, their commitment to the cause of self-determination for people is firm and their promise to represent the just cause and work towards its resolution made to the people and the creator will last as long as they live. The leadership is ready to face every challenge thrown its way,” the statement said.
 

அரசியல் அமைப்புத் திருத்தம்! All parties have agreed to include ‘Unitary status’ in constitution

All parties have agreed to include ‘Unitary status’ in constitution
Friday, June 2, 2017 - 01:00
 
Sandasen  MARASINGHE

Highways State Minister Dilan Perera

All political parties including the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) have agreed to include the term ‘Unitary Status’ into the new constitution that is being formulated, Highways State Minister Dilan Perera said .

He made these observations yesterday at a press conference held at the Sri Lanka Freedom Party Head Office in Colombo.

He said that some media had carried incorrect news.

He said the term Unitary Status is in the Sinhala translation of the constitution and not in the English and Tamil translations.

“What members like me maintained was to include the term Unitary Status into the English and the Tamil translations of the Constitution,” Perera said.

“The TNA also has agreed to include the term ‘Unitary’ into the constitution”, he said.

Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Bahrain cut ties to Qatar

Qatar calls decision by Gulf nations and Egypt 'unjustified', saying allegations against Doha have 'no basis in fact'.

05 Jun 2017 11:30 GMT

 

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen and the Maldives say they are severing diplomatic relations with Qatar.

The Saudi kingdom made the announcement via its state-run Saudi Press Agency early on Monday, saying it was taking action for what it called the protection of national security.

The news agency released a statement in which it accused Qatar of "harbouring a multitude of terrorist and sectarian groups that aim to create instability in the region".

READ MORE: Leaders and markets react to Gulf diplomatic rift

 

The three Gulf states gave Qatari visitors and residents two weeks to leave their countries, Reuters news agency reported.

Saudi also closed the border and halted air and sea traffic with Qatar, urging "all brotherly countries and companies to do the same".

The statement appeared to be timed in concert with an earlier announcement by Bahrain, which was similarly cutting ties and halting air and sea traffic between the two countries.

'Unjustified'

Qatar's foreign ministry said it regretted the measures by the Arab nations, calling the decisions "unjustified".

"The measures are unjustified and are based on claims and allegations that have no basis in fact," the statement said, adding that the decisions would "not affect the normal lives of citizens and residents".
"The aim is clear, and it is to impose guardianship on the state. This by itself is a violation of its [Qatar's] sovereignty as a state," it added.

WATCH: What's behind recent media attacks against Qatar? (25:14)

 

Bahrain's foreign ministry issued a statement saying it would withdraw its diplomatic mission from the Qatari capital, Doha, within 48 hours and that all Qatari diplomats should leave Bahrain within the same period.

The UAE said in a statement it was cutting off all ties with Qatar. It also ordered Qatari citizens to leave te country within 14 days and banned its citizens from travelling to Qatar.

Egypt also announced the closure of its airspace and seaports for all Qatari transportation "to protect its national security", the foreign ministry said in a statement.

Later on Monday, the Maldives said in a statement that it took the decision to sever diplomatic ties "because of its firm opposition to activities that encourage terrorism and extremism".

UAE-based carriers Emirates, Etihad Airways and FlyDubai said they would suspend flights to and from Qatar beginning Tuesday morning.

It was not immediately clear how Monday's announcement would affect other airlines.

READ MORE: How Gulf diplomatic rift will affect air travel

 

A Saudi-led coalition which for more than two years has been fighting Iran-backed rebels in Yemen separately announced that Qatar was no longer welcome in the alliance.

Yemen's internationally recognised government also cut ties with Qatar, accusing it of working with its enemies in the Iran-aligned Houthi movement, state news agency Saba reported.

A senior Iranian official said the measures by the Arab nations would not help end the crisis in the Middle East.

"The era of cutting diplomatic ties and closing borders ... is not a way to resolve crisis ... As I said before, aggression and occupation will have no result but instability," Hamid Aboutalebi, deputy chief of staff of Iran's President Hassan Rouhani, tweeted, referring to the coalition's involvement in Yemen.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson gave a statement on Monday while on a state visit in Australia, urging the Gulf states to stay united.

"We certainly would encourage the parties to sit down together and address these differences," he said in Sydney.

"If there's any role that we can play in terms of helping them address those, we think it is important that the GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council] remain united."

Tillerson said despite the impasse, he did not expect it to have "any significant impact, if any impact at all, on the unified fight against terrorism in the region or globally".

"All of those parties you mentioned have been quite unified in the fight against terrorism and the fight against Daesh, ISIS, and have expressed that most recently in the summit in Riyadh," he added, using alternative names for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group.

Mevlut Cavusoglu, Turkey's foreign minister, also called for dialogue to resolve the dispute.
"We see the stability in the Gulf region as our own unity and solidarity," Cavusoglu told a news conference.

"Countries may of course have some issues, but dialogue must continue under every circumstance for problems to be resolved peacefully. We are saddened by the current picture and will give any support for its normalisation".

Hacking dispute

The dispute between Qatar and the Gulf's Arab countries escalated after a recent hack of Qatar's state-run news agency. It has spiralled since.

Following the hacking on Tuesday, comments falsely attributed to Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, were broadcast in Qatar.

Qatar's government categorically denied that the comments, in which the country's leader expressed support for Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah and Israel - while suggesting that US President Donald Trump may not last in power, were ever made.

"There are international laws governing such crimes, especially the cyberattack. [The hackers] will be prosecuted according to the law," Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Qatar's foreign minister, said on Wednesday.

UAE-based Sky News Arabia and Al Arabiya kept running the discredited story, despite the Qatari denials.

Source: Al Jazeera

ஐக்கிய இலங்கையில் `நுஹ்மான் மாமாக்கள்`!

 Human rights commission urges President to tackle hate crimes
June 2, 2017   10:58 pm

An independent human rights watchdog has urged President Maithripala Sirisena to tackle the alleged hate crime attacks from Buddhist extremist groups targeting the country’s minority Muslim community.

In a letter to Sirisena, the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka asked the government to fully implement the rule of law to bring the perpetrators of racial hatred to book.

The commission has urged the president “to take all the necessary actions against the instigators and perpetrators of violence and hate speech targeting the Muslim community”.

Envoys of many countries, including Australia and Canada, have visited a prominent mosque here to express their solidarity with the country’s Muslims who allege that their religious places have come under hate crimeattacks from Buddhist extremist groups.

The Muslim community has been disturbed by an escalation of attacks against them since mid April. Several places of religious practice and Muslim-owned businesses have been attacked, the commission said as it also complained of police inaction in tackling the situation. The commission said that it has been alarmed by the racial hatred and hate speech targeting Muslims.

The letter further states: “The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka is gravely concerned about the acts of violence and aggression targeting the Muslim community, which have aggravated in recent days.

The Commission notes that previously similar conduct led to the violence at Aluthgama in June 2014, resulting in the loss of lives and destruction of property. We also do note that to date no meaningful action has been taken to make those responsible for instigating and perpetrating the Aluthgama violence accountable.

The Commission is alarmed at the hate speech conveyed over social media as well as some mainstream media targeting the Muslim community and Islam, which seek to instigate people to commit violence against the Muslim people, their religious institutions and businesses.

The Commission also wishes to bring to the attention of Your Excellency the spate of attacks on places of Christian religious worship in the recent past, which adds to an alarming trend of religious bigotry and intolerance which has gone unchecked.

There is no doubt that such expressions of hate and violence targeting a specific community amount to crimes under the ICCPR Act, No 56 of 2007 and the Penal Code of Sri Lanka. It is necessary that the perpetrators of such acts are apprehended and dealt with according to law. Laws existing on the statute books without implementation have a corrosive impact on the Rule of Law. As such it is essential that these laws are implemented in the best interests of the country.

Both national law and international human rights obligations of Sri Lanka obligate the government to prevent such acts of violence and to take timely action to stop the spread of hate speech, which foster and promote violent conduct. Failure to do so will be a black mark on the human rights record of the country and will be another serious obstacle to the reconciliation process in our country, on which Your Excellency has placed much emphasis.

In these circumstances the HRCSL requests Your Excellency to give urgent directions to Ministry of Law and Order and the Inspector General of Police to take all necessary action against the instigators and perpetrators of violence and hate speech targeting the Muslim community as well as other religious minorities.”

-With inputs from agencies

Fossil fuels have made up at least 80% of U.S. fuel mix since 1900

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration,

 

Monthly Energy Review

While the energy history of the United States is one of significant change, three fossil fuel sources—petroleum, natural gas, and coal—have made up at least 80% of total U.S. energy consumption for more than 100 years. Recent increases in the domestic production of petroleum liquids and natural gas prompted shifts between the uses of fossil fuels (largely from coal-fired to natural gas-fired power generation), but the predominance of these three energy sources is likely to continue into the future.

For the first several decades of American history, families used wood (a renewable energy source) as a primary source of energy. Coal became dominant in the late 19th century before being overtaken by petroleum products in the middle of the 20th century, a time when natural gas usage also rose quickly. Since the mid-20th century, use of coal increased again (mainly as a primary energy source for electric power generation), and a new form of energy—nuclear electric power—emerged. After a pause in the 1970s, the use of petroleum and natural gas resumed growth. Petroleum consumption decreased in recent years, but natural gas has continued to provide a greater share of U.S. energy consumption. In the late 1980s, renewable energy consumption (other than wood and hydroelectric) began to appear, increasing significantly in the mid-2000s. In 2014, the renewable share of energy consumption in the United States was the highest (nearly 10%) since the 1930s, when wood represented a larger share of consumption. Renewable energy is a small but growing piece of the U.S. energy mix. The greatest growth in renewables today is in solar and wind power, which along with geothermal and biomass, are included in other renewables.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration,

 

Monthly Energy Review

 

Principal contributor: EIA Staff
 

US $200 Billion Fossil Fuel Subsidy You've Never Heard Of

Flooding in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina (Credit: Pixabay)  

The $200 Billion Fossil Fuel Subsidy You've Never Heard Of

Amir Jina, Contributor

 

There’s an “alternative fact” that has been prevailing in society. That is that climate change is not happening, or at least not happening due to humans. This view has held strong even though billions of people around the world—including right here in the U.S.—are already experiencing the damaging, costly, and dangerous effects of a changing climate. In the past week, the Trump administration has put this “alternative fact” front and center—taking actions to wipe government websites clean of the words “climate change,” walk back environmental rules,  and limit the effectiveness of the EPA. These are the signs of an administration that is not only hostile towards climate change, but towards science itself.

Now for an actual fact: The costs of climate change are real. Scientists and economists, myself included, may go back and forth on how high the actual cost is, but it is definitely greater than zero. This cost can be summarized by an important number called the Social Cost of Carbon—the cost to society of emitting an extra ton of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. That cost reveals itself in different ways. For example, rising temperatures will lead to more heat-related deaths, and less time in the labor market (more on that in my previous Forbes post).

The U.S. emitted 5.4 billion tons of carbon dioxide in 2015, with a cost per ton of $36 (the current Social Cost of Carbon). That means the U.S. is paying $200 billion to cover the costs of all the emissions being burned. In effect, it’s a $200 billion hidden subsidy to the fossil fuel industry. This $200 billion is a cost in real money—in lost labor productivity, healthcare costs, increased energy expenditures, coastal damages—that is paid somewhere in the world for each ton of carbon dioxide that is emitted.

The Trump administration has argued that fossil fuels are not on an equal playing field due to “job-destroying regulations.” They’re right about one thing—the playing field is not equal. Numbers on the exact direct fossil fuel subsidies in the U.S. vary, but it’s probably on the order of $20 billion being handed out to the fossil fuel industry each year. That’s on top of the $200 billion hidden subsidy they’re already getting for polluting our air and contributing to climate change.

Regulations like the Clean Power Plan and the meager $15.4 billion the U.S. spends subsidizing clean energy are supposed to even out this playing field. But the simplest, most efficient, way for society to make sure it’s a fair game and decrease the damages caused by climate change would be to pay the price for those damages. Doing so would mean the fossil fuel industry would need to pay their fair share, and so would we if we keep using those fossil fuels. There would then be a greater incentive—without subsidies—to transition to clean energy. Emissions would decrease.  And, the price we would have paid to adapt to climate change would get lower over time.

Instead, the opposite is happening. With time, the cost of climate change is adding up, and new costs we didn’t even know about are getting added in as the science behind climate change and its impacts grows. For example, we’re learning a lot more about the impact of major storms on economic growth. This will worsen with climate change. So, the $36 per ton we currently use as the Social Cost of Carbon could be much larger.

The National Academy of Sciences released a recommendation in January to update the process for forming the Social Cost of Carbon, pointing out ways that the newest science can transparently inform this important calculation. This is a crucial effort. Unfortunately, an anti-scientific manipulation of this recommendation would place it, and us, in an uncertain future.

The Social Cost of Carbon is the best scientific and policy tool to level the playing field and fix the current market failure where the fossil fuel industry pays zero. Without it, and a concerted effort to set it at the right price, the uneven playing field will only continue to widen. And, the Trump administration’s early actions to expand fossil fuels only exacerbate this. Not only do those actions not make sense economically, they are also anti-scientific and dangerous. The fact is, if we don’t pay the right price now, we’ll be paying a much greater price in future.