HEATED - Coal CEOs are the new crypto bros
Hi there—Emily here. I just recently moved to Pennsylvania, so I know intricately that these constant reminders to make a plan to vote can be super overwhelming. So with the Big Day fast-approaching, I also wanted to remind you to make a plan to protect your sanity and mental health tomorrow. Personally, I’m going to make sure to get some good outdoor time and exercise in early in the day, to make sure my brain is as clear as possible. I’m also going to limit my time on social media, as well as how late I’ll stay up to watch results roll in. Sleep is always king!! Whatever the outcome, we’ll be here on the other side, ready to cover the fight for our collective future. Love ya, take care of yourself and each other, eat a banana, drink some water, and vote! Coal CEOs are the new crypto brosAlliance Resource Partners isn’t just mining coal anymore. It’s also mining Bitcoin.Over the weekend, HEATED reported on one of the stranger bedfellowships of the 2024 election: Elon Musk, clean tech billionaire, and Joe Craft, coal billionaire. ICYMI: Craft is one of the largest donors to Elon Musk’s America PAC. The coal baron made a one-time $1 million donation in June, marking his single-largest-ever campaign contribution. That Craft would fork over $1 million to a pro-Trump effort is not surprising. What’s surprising is that the money would go to Musk, who once helped South Australia quit coal, and whose business plan for Tesla literally proposes to “eliminate fossil fuels.” So why would Craft throw his weight behind Musk, of all people? My theory is that it has less to do with Musk’s vision for the future of energy, and more so his vision for the future of cryptocurrency. Because Craft, like Musk, is a certified crypto bro. And if cryptocurrency soars in the near-term future, then Craft is betting that coal will, too. The coal company mining BitcoinCryptocurrency mining requires an enormous amount of electricity—so much that in 2020, a coal plant slated for retirement was revived because of Bitcoin mining. This has been great news for Craft’s coal company, Alliance Resource Partners. In an April earnings call, Craft said that cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence is “driving significant growth in anticipated electricity demand over the next several years.” This increase in demand has “given us some more optimism that our coal operations will continue longer than when we started looking at some of this diversification,” Craft said. And Craft isn’t just waiting for Bitcoin miners to create demand for coal. He’s creating the demand himself. Over the last four years, Alliance Resource Partners has mined a whopping $30 million worth of Bitcoin, Alliance CFO Cary Marshall said on the April earnings call. “We're not actually out there buying Bitcoin or anything of that nature,” Marshall said. “We're mining the Bitcoin associated with these miners that we have. Craft went on to explain that Alliance has "effectively built” a data center for Bitcoin mining, and is using the excess electricity from its coal facilities to power the energy-intensive Bitcoin mining process. In addition, Craft said Alliance is renting its excess data processing capacity to other Bitcoin miners, “to take advantage of the low energy costs we have.” The extra income from Alliance’s Bitcoin mining operations are helping the coal company remain financially stable, Marshall added. “We're mining the Bitcoin, and we're selling generally on a monthly basis to cover our operating costs,” he said. He added that the company currently owns about 425 Bitcoin and expects to mine between 175 to 190 more this year. Meanwhile, Forbes has called Musk “one of the biggest Bitcoin and crypto price influencers”—which could extend to the government level if Trump is re-elected. If re-elected, Trump has promised to appoint Musk the head of a new department to oversee and mitigate government spending: The Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE—a reference to Musk’s favorite cryptocurrency, Dogecoin. (Trump has also pledged to create a bitcoin strategic reserve if elected, as well as form a crypto advisory council). Musk, for what it’s worth, used to be concerned about the potential negative impacts of cryptocurrency on climate change, particularly with regard to coal. In 2021, just weeks after Tesla announced it had invested $1.5 billion in Bitcoin, Musk announced that Tesla would no longer accept car purchases via Bitcoin. "We are concerned about rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels for Bitcoin mining and transactions, especially coal, which has the worst emissions of any fuel," he said. "Cryptocurrency is a good idea... but this cannot come at great cost to the environment." But like all things related to climate change, Musk seems to have abandoned that concern. Today, Tesla is the third-largest Bitcoin holder among public companies, Yahoo reported, and SpaceX “is said to be holding around 8,285 coins.” Anyway, just thought that was interesting. What do y’all think? Catch of the Day: Good girl Leila is an 11.5 year old mutt who is somehow still full of beans. She spent her first year in Tennessee, the next 7 in Florida, and the past 3.5 in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Her mom, reader Nico, would like to move back home to Florida. But Leila is epileptic, and has seizures when she overheats. So they’ll be sticking it out in the mountains since the summers keep getting hotter. Want to see your furry (or non-furry!) friend in HEATED? Send a picture and some words to catchoftheday@heated.world. Invite your friends and earn rewardsIf you enjoy HEATED, share it with your friends and earn rewards when they subscribe. |
Older messages
Elon Musk’s PAC is powered by coal
Saturday, November 2, 2024
Coal billionaire Joe Craft is one of America PAC's biggest donors, according to campaign finance records reviewed by HEATED. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
U.N. report obscures meat’s true climate impact
Wednesday, October 30, 2024
By measuring only direct emissions, the UN unintentionally makes a massive polluter look much more innocent than it is. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
How bad could Trump be for renewables?
Thursday, October 24, 2024
A previously unreported study predicts a massive decrease in solar, wind, and battery development if Trump adopts just one proposal in Project 2025. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
Microplastics! They're everywhere!
Sunday, October 20, 2024
An unhinged list of places scientists have found microplastics—including dolphin breath. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
Keep yelling about climate change
Tuesday, October 8, 2024
It can feel demoralizing in the face of delay, but new peer-reviewed research suggests it's not always in vain. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
You Might Also Like
6 Unexpected Household Uses for Dry-Erase Markers
Thursday, November 21, 2024
Green Bubble Chats on iPhone Have a Major Security Issue. The temporary tool we've all been sleeping on. Not displaying correctly? View this newsletter online. TODAY'S FEATURED STORY Six
Stop Everything—Halle Berry Just Rewore Her Most Iconic Naked Dress
Thursday, November 21, 2024
Plus, Dua Lipa's grunge moment, the rise of the "cherry mocha girl," your daily horoscope, and more. Nov. 21, 2024 Bustle Daily Nicholas Alexander Chavez sits in a chair. ENTERTAINMENT
Why People Won’t Shut Up About Raw Milk
Thursday, November 21, 2024
Today in style, self, culture, and power. The Cut November 21, 2024 HEALTH Why People Won't Shut Up About Raw Milk Everything you need to know. Photo-Illustration: The Cut; Photos: Getty No one on
It’s Not Them. It’s You.
Thursday, November 21, 2024
The importance of finding your North Star. Especially now. OHF WEEKLY It's Not Them. It's You. The importance of finding your North Star. Especially now. By Clay Rivers • 21 Nov 2024 View in
"What is upon us will require mercy"
Thursday, November 21, 2024
November 21, 2024 national book award Congratulations to Lena Khalaf Tuffaha, winner of the 2024 National Book Award in Poetry. Read poems from Something About Living (University of Akron Press, 2024):
Bats
Thursday, November 21, 2024
Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more Bats Edith Zimmerman Nov 21 READ IN APP Archive | Etsy | About me Like Comment Restack © 2024 Edith Zimmerman New York State Unsubscribe Get the app Start
Not So Thrifty
Thursday, November 21, 2024
An interesting store in an interesting place ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
Now Streaming: Married to Comics by John Kinhart
Thursday, November 21, 2024
Comic artists Justin Green and Carol Tyler profiled in this feature-length documentary. BLAG Magazine: Adventures in Sign Painting Craft, Community & Culture bl.ag online weekly (all members) Now
Has the art world gone bananas?
Thursday, November 21, 2024
— Check out what we Skimm'd for you today November 21, 2024 Subscribe Read in browser Header Image But first: Who's ready for a Cowboy Carter Christmas? Update location or View forecast Quote
"As Girl" by Annie Wenstrup
Thursday, November 21, 2024
At six being a girl meant Tinkerbell / nail polish and pointed, pink Barbie shoes. Facebook Twitter Instagram Support Poem-a-Day November 21, 2024 As Girl Annie Wenstrup At six being a girl meant