Page 30 - Flathead Beacon // 9.2.15

LIKE I WAS SAYIN’
TWO FOR THOUGHT SAME TOPIC, DIFFERENT VIEWS TESTED BY FIRE
KELLYN BROWN
COMMODITY ETCONOMIES
BY TIM BALDWIN
The northwestern United States has suffered tremendous loss this dry season due to the wildfires. Business, property, tourism, and human lives have been lost. Long-time resi- dents of Montana have said these are the worst wild fires since before 2000. While federal agents have said that these wildfires can hardly be controlled, others blame the federal government’s mismanagement for these wildfires.
Congressman Paul Gosar, R-Arizona, has introduced wildfire prevention bills to better manage public lands. He said, “Over 40 years of federal forest mismanagement has directly led to old forest overgrowth. It defies common- sense that only a fraction of federal land is treated every year by the U.S. Forest Service despite the proven scientific results of current forest thinning measures.” Are these bills good enough though?
Montanans may know this instinctively, but allowing us to thin and sell timber in our forests not only produces wealth for us but also helps prevent the devastating effects of wildfires. In part, the federal government’s inattention to these interests is what causes the push to put some pub- lic land back into state control.
No one knows Montana’s natural and economic condi- tions better than Montanans. We have strong, personal incentives to manage our forests properly: it is our air, homes, property, and business at stake. If the federal gov- ernment proves inept to properly manage public lands, pragmatism requires the people to reconsider which gov- ernment should manage these lands.
BY JOE CARBONARI
I’m proud. I’m proud of the way that we locals
face danger. We don’t panic easily. We get tested by storm, by flood, and by fire. Fire is the worst. It is a force of nature. Our wild land fires run from quirky to uncontrollable. It takes both talent and resources to deal with them. Fortunately, most of the worst are on Federal lands. There, we have national help and clear national responsibility.
In our state alone, would the residents of the plains vote for the protections and funding that would be needed if we Montanans took over the control and the responsibility? The decency and good sense of our citizenry becomes debatable in our legislature. As dysfunctional as D.C. can be, our wild land firefighters are doing the job....our state and local folks, too. We do this as a team and as a community. We do what we can and we do what we must. We should be proud.
We do this instinctively. We take it seriously. We are here. We recognize the need to cooperate for the greater good. We also see some opportu- nities, from time to time, that might benefit us but detract from others. Federal restrictions help keep that under control. These lands, this envi- ronment, this, our experience, deserves preser- vation. It takes dedication, resources, and knowl- edge. It is a national heritage. Let’s keep it that way.
HERE IS AN ONGOING DEBATE NORTH OF the border over royalties the government receives from oil and gas, the prices of which
have recently plummeted and coincided with a weak- ening currency and struggling economy.
Rachel Notley’s election to premier of Alberta in May marked the first time in more than 40 years that the Conservative Party has lost control of a province considered the conservative heartland of Canada. And part of Notley’s and the New Democratic Party’s cam- paign included reviewing how Alberta benefits from its natural resources.
This has companies operating in the vast oil sands “spooked,” and critics have encouraged Notley to delay the review until after prices have rebounded, or ditch it altogether. Instead, she says it will go forward, although softening her language and emphasizing she is “not going to do anything right now when we have prices so low that would undermine the ability of the industry to recover.”
Notley is in an unenviable position. Economists say Alberta is in a mild recession this year. Meanwhile, the new premier must find ways to cut spending and raise revenue.
“Alberta has certainly witnessed these dips in commodity prices before and survived,” Gary Mason wrote in The Globe and Mail. “But it’s the first price panic that has occurred with a centre-left government at the controls, one that has promised to bring in all manner of environmental and economic reforms that have only added to the worries of those inhabiting the oil and gas towers of downtown Calgary.”
He added that he thinks the collapse in oil prices will result in a budget deficit of around $3 billion, although others have predicted twice that amount. In turn, lower commodity prices have weakened the Canadian dollar to about 75 U.S. cents, which is espe- cially concerning among Flathead Valley retailers who rely on the customers who use it.
Notley’s biggest challenge is to reinvent the Alberta economy to rely less on a key commodity. Cheap oil, which is selling around $40 a barrel (less than half the price as in recent years), may be around for a while.
It could be far worse. Countries reliant on com- modities are susceptible to boom-to-bust economies. China’s tumbling stock market and slowing growth is reminding the world of that, and nowhere as loudly as in Brazil.
That country saw its economy surge on the back of commodities. Brazil exported iron ore, soybeans, beef and more to China, increasing annual trade from around $2 billion in 2000 to $83 billion in 2013, according to the Wall Street Journal. The boom helped Brazil land the World Cup in 2014 and the upcoming 2016 Olympics. Now, it appears, the ride is over.
Brazil’s stock market has lost more than 20 percent of its value over the last year, its economy is shrinking, and antigovernment demonstrations are common- place. As Ruchir Sharma, head of emerging markets at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, told the Journal, “Unfortunately, the history is that commodi- ty-dependent economies do not catch up with the U.S.”
Alberta, on the other hand, is better positioned. The oil slump will hurt, but the low Canadian dollar could boost manufacturing exports. Still, a budget fight looms up north this fall, where Notley’s party and its opposition are openly disagreeing over whether public services should be trimmed to make up for part of the shortfall. And part of that budget will include predict- ing future oil prices, which, it appears, no one can do.
GUEST COLUMN DEE BROWN
LIFT THE CHOKEHOLD ON SHIPPING COAL
M
We have far more treasures in our state in the way of natural resources, including timber, oil and coal.
At last month’s PNWER-Pacific Northwest Eco- nomic Region- meeting at Big Sky I attended an excel- lent meeting on coal. Diverse panelists from west- ern Canada and the northwestern states shared their knowledge on this important natural resource.
One of the panelists, Del Laverdure, a senior advi- sor to Chairman Old Coyote of the Crow tribe, spoke of the importance of shipping coal out of the region to world markets. Two-thirds of their budget is derived from its sale and could produce a benefit of $107 mil- lion annually to employ their members and reach eco- nomic prosperity on the reservation.
There is now a chokehold on shipping coal because of the delays in permitting two deepwater ports in Washington state. One of them will be located in Longview on the Columbia River. Longview was the first privately planned U.S. community and home to many manufacturing centers along the river.
Former manufacturer Reynolds Aluminum is gone and now replaced with Millennium Bulk Terminals. They have partnered with Alcoa to clean up the site and offer dry product shipping.
The Gateway Pacific Terminal north of Seattle is going through the permitting process to add a fourth pier. Canada has gone “all in” on exports from the West Coast just across the border and is employing thou- sands of workers with good paying jobs.
Making terminals the choking point for not
shipping southwest Montana coal will only extend the use of poor quality coal to Asian markets. The need for coal to make electricity in emerging countries is not going away whether we thumb our noses or whether our president puts on increasing demands for a cleaner power plan in the U.S.
The president’s recent rules on greenhouse gas emissions is double troubling knowing that poor qual- ity coal is still being used. How will these U.S. rules help the world as a whole?
Montana’s Crow Nation is home to the highest BTU, lowest sulphur content coal in the world. Doesn’t it make sense to sell our cleaner coal to Taiwan, South Korea and Japan to replace the poor quality coal they now buy from Indonesia? Wouldn’t this go a long way to lowering the emissions globally and lessen the effects of greenhouse gases many are so worried about with this resource?
The sooner the Washington ports are certified, the sooner the Earth will have a cleaner product making electricity. The Crow Nation sees the benefit to their members just as we should see the benefit of lower emissions from this cleaner burning fuel. Higher BTU = less need for coal = lower emissions, thus lessening the carbon in the atmosphere.
I agree with the governor’s disappointment at the latest rulings on emission standards and hope he, too, will be on the side of shipping a better product to all potential buyers. Now we have to convince the presi- dent that we are in a global market and could make a difference on the world stage.
As for me, I will definitely vote with the Crow.
Dee Brown is a state senator from Hungry Horse.
ONTANA’S NICKNAME OF THE TREASURE State is touted on our flag with ‘Oro Y Plata’ –
gold and silver, based on our mineral wealth.
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SEPTEMBER 2, 2015 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM