Clean Coal: Radical Environmentalists Can't Make Up Their Minds
Clean coal is coal which has been chemically washed of minerals and impurities, processed through gasification, and treated with steam to remove sulfur dioxide to produce cleaner energy. It also goes through carbon capture and storage technology to capture carbon dioxide from the flue gas to reduce carbon emissions and pollution.
On one hand…
According to the Environmental Defense Fund’s (EDF) website, “An efficient alternative to the traditional pulverized coal-fired power plant, an IGCC [Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle] power plant can achieve low emission rates of nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide, particulate mater and mercury… For new electricity generation, IGCC power plants are a much more environmentally sound option than outdated pulverized coal plants and should be seriously considered as part of an overall air pollution control strategy for proposed new power plants.” The EDF has also stated that, “The good news is that emerging technologies such as carbon capture and sequestration will allow us to use coal cleanly and without adding to global warming.”
Despite this strong support from one of the most well-known environmental groups in the world, radical environmentalists want to stop this clean energy from being produced.
But on the other hand…
In a video, enviro-extremist duo
Robin and Bria on Rainforest Action Network’s website assert that, “There is no such thing as clean coal. It never existed and it never will” and that, “The cutting edge in coal green-washing is yet another technology that doesn’t exist…carbon capture is just a ploy, a cynical diversion to convince the public that the coal industry is actually doing something to clean itself up.” They conclude by asking, “why not invest in a technology we all know works already, like wind?” As this website documents, their green-extremist allies are trying to also block wind power in Oregon, leaving one to wonder if these groups actually support any energy use at all.
