Letter: Candidates keep talking about ‘clean coal’ that doesn’t exist
October 9, 2008
To the Editor:
As the woman who asked Sen. Biden the controversy-causing question about “clean coal” at a rope line in Maumee, Ohio, I continue to be concerned over how little politicians and the media have thought through the consequences of a coal future.
Although Sen. Biden’s response to my question is often referenced, as in the vice presidential debate, the media continue to miss the crucial point: There is no such thing as “clean coal.”
Conventional coal-burning power plants are the leading cause of global-warming pollution in the United States, pollution that will cost us billions in the future. Coal emits more carbon pollution per unit of energy than any other fossil fuel — let alone clean sources of energy.
Carbon capture and sequestration is unproven, dangerous and exorbitantly expensive. At best, the technology will not be commercially available until 2030 and the U.S. Department of Energy calculates that installing carbon-capture systems will almost double any coal plant costs.
Our tax dollars should not go to the boondoggle of some coal-industry dream of carbon capture. Instead we should focus on real solutions that are available right now – solutions like wind power, solar power, and gains in energy efficiency.
Carolyn Auwaerter
1Sky Campaign
Columbus
Comments
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30roundclip commented, on October 11, 2008 at 2:28 p.m.:
We all would love to have clean burning fuels but while they work on these fuels to power our country, we still have to use fuels like natural gas, oil, and coal. Fifty-percent of our electricity is powered by coal so coal is not going away soon. I heard what Biden said about clean coal and I also heard him say "NO COAL PLANTS IN OHIO". Then he dances around his remark saying it was "taken out of context". I hope our coal miners, power plant workers, construction workers, and industries that support the coal industry heard when Biden said "NO COAL PLANTS IN OHIO".
