Clean Coal? Do You Think I Am an Oxymoron?

News junkie that I am, I needed a Wolf Blitzer fix so I turned on CNN only to see a commercial about the wonders of clean coal. Not that I haven't seen ads such as these before, the coal industry has spend a great deal of money to try and convince the American public that they have a product that is somehow environmentally friendly. Only weeks after the major environmental disasters caused by coal in Alabama and Kentucky it seemed that these ads were in particularly bad taste.

Does the coal industry really think we are this stupid?

Even after the TVA coal disasters, the coal industry appears to be stepping up their efforts to trick the American people into thinking that coal is a clean and efficient fuel. In what is by far the ultimate green washing, a new barrage of "clean coal" commercials tries to mislead the public that we have the technology to burn coal cleanly. This is such a blatant lie that it is almost painful to watch.

Around 600 coal plants in the U.S provide over half of our electricity and is a leading cause of global warming. Even the coal industry themselves do not have a way to reduce the carbon dioxide efficiently. For all their "clean coal" talk, the storing of these emissions would require so much energy that it would not be feasible to produce energy this way. In an ironic twist, "clean coal" would also increase the amount of waste coal plants create. Basically, this would pile up more of the type of sludge that is currently destroying ecosystems in Alabama and Tennessee.

In addition to their mounds of chemical ash, coal producers remove mountain tops for their mining. It just makes you feel all warm and fuzzy about "clean coal".

Under the Bush administration, the Department of Energy handed big coal just under two billion dollars to develop clean coal technology. Currently, there is not a single coal plant that has this technology ready to use, nor is there an immediate plan that could provide us with "clean coal" in the future.

What we do have is big coal with their hands out again. As much as I love Senator Robert Byrd, his efforts to give big coal 4.6 billion dollars under the economic stimulus package are beyond ludicrous!!

This money is designed to create jobs and provide loans now, so it shouldn't be a part of the economic stimulus package. It is also a huge waste throwing more money at a dirty industry of the past looking to make a profit at the expense of the American taxpayer. There is an even greater cost coal pollution brings. This cost is not only measured by what happens to the environment, but the health consequences that come from this type of pollution.

We must not provide any more funding to what really is a dying industry. As we are developing our new green economy, these types of toxic, harmful technologies have to be replaced with the clean energy technologies of the future, such as wind and solar.
The first thing that needs to be done is to let our senators know that we oppose our tax dollars being given to the coal industry under the guise of an economic stimulus.
We also need to stop any new coal plants from being built and support President Obama as he puts restrictions on coal plants. Our government should provide more benefits to clean energy technologies like wind and solar and begin to move away from fossils fuels. As new energy jobs emerge, we should also be sure that many of these jobs are in places like West Virginia that currently depend on coal for their economies. Mountains, clean air and water free from toxic sludge shouldn't become something that is reserved for the wealthy.

No matter how many "clean coal" ads the coal industry buys, American's know that coal is anything but clean.

Comments

[plantguy]

Your counting the manufacturing and construction as employment which would be short lived once the manufacturing would be outsourced oversees as everything. If you want a fair number you must look at how many americans would be employed to operate and maintain wind energy.

[Guitarsandmore]

We have the biggest most expensive military in the entire world.
We fight so that we can have peace. We always have and we always will.
World War 1 was billed as the war to end all wars but it didn't and it hasn't.

People have fought and killed each other over a piece of rock in the middle east for thousands of years so that they can worship in peace.

Israel and Palestine are fighting and so they turn to their big brothers (usa and iran) so that they can have a bigger, bolder, bloodier fight. They are like children on the playground.

[alvdh1]

Energy efficiency has to be the cornerstone of alternative energy investment. At a cost of 3-4 cents per Kwh, energy efficiency provides the maximum and critcal benefit to wind and solar development. For example, two identical homes are competing for a 4KW solar panel installation. The first home is fitted with the most advanced LED lighting, geothermal heating and cooling system and star rated appliances. The second home is fitted with a standard incandescent lighting, a conventional ac system and non-star rated appliances.

A typical 4 Kw solar system costs about $36,000 installed. The first scenario would likely reduce energy consumption by about 50% and thereby reduce the size of the solar system by the same amount. The upfront cost for the LED lighting and geo thermal heating and cooling system with solar panels would cost about $40,000, but the savings going forward would offeset the additional $4,000 through energy savings when the sun is not shinning or on overcast days. In addition, which home would bring greater value when sold.

[blaising]

Wind industry recently surpassed coal in number of jobs it provides. Why would I want to give my $$ to a dinasaur like coal?

West Virginia votes.

[Thermodynamics]

Lest we forget, the big recent unclean coal mess was in eastern Tennessee.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dave-cooper/tennessees-toxic-nightmar_b_154839.html

It was on a river that flows into the TVA system of lakes formed by dams on the Tennessee River, which winds through parts of TN, MS, AL, GA, KY, NC, before flowing into the Mississippi River

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennessee_Valley_Authority