Coal fired Power Plants being built now?
Unless you’re a head in the sand sort or believe the anti Global Warming Propaganda, you know that the largest contributors to Greenhouse CO2 emissions are Coal Burning Power Plants. Now, there has been some work done to create a technology, called IGCC, which turns coal into a gas before burning and result in much less sludge and slurry and CO2 emissions, and that can be built into a new power plant with more initial cost. Unfortunately there are no protections in place in the areas these plants are being built to stop the power companies from building the (initially) cheaper and dirtier sort.
Where is this, you ask? China maybe? Well, yes. China is building new power plants and most are burning pulverized coal in the dirtiest way. But China isn’t the only country slated for new dirty power plants, unless something is done soon. The other country is the US. Yes, I said the US.
Here we are, supposedly one of the most advanced nations in the world, and instead of moving forward we’re moving backward. What burns my buns most about this is the two faced approach toward environmentalism taken by the present administration. In 2001, George Bush said, “More than half of the electricity generated in America today comes from coal. If we weren’t blessed with this natural resource, we would face even greater [energy] shortages and higher prices today. Yet, coal presents an environmental challenge. So our plan funds research into new, clean coal technologies.” Sounds good, huh? The problem is that NO laws or controls have been put into place to force power companies into building cleaner electric plants. Right now TXU, a major US power company based in (sheesh, who woulda guessed?) Dallas TX, is slated to build 11 new coal fired power plants which will all be built using the dirtier and older technology, which, unless something is done to change that, is cheaper for the power companies. The argument they use for this is that the older technology is more reliable and can produce electricity cheaper. However, the US taxpayer will pay more no matter what. Mercury poisoning, CO2 emissions, Smog, Health insurance costs, environmental cleanup, acid rain– all these things cost US taxpayers after the fact, but since it isn’t coming out of the power company’s pocket there is absolutely no incentive for them to care. Add to this the gutting of the EPA’s enforcement power by the present administration, and it adds up to a huge problem for future generations.
This needs to be addressed now. CO2 emission taxes MUST be put into place, forcing power companies to clean up their act. The revenue generated should be used for research into and funding of alternative energy sources such as wind power, solar, tidal, and others, as well as cleanup of existing environmental messes, pollution controls on older plants, and health care to those affected by these issues. We have to bite the bullet now, or we’ll be paying fifty times more later.
It also needs to be said– the US should be setting an example for countries like China. Instead we’re exporting our problems to them. One wonders how that will come back to bite us in the butt in twenty or so years. If we’re still breathing by then.
Technorati Tags: Coal Power, Pollution, Greenhouse Gases, CO2, IGCC, Alternative Energy
