Coal: more on the fall-out

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Coal is not perfect...

...but right now it is what we have. I used to live down there in SW Colorado, and have seen first hand the effects of living near large coal fired power plants. I used to fish in those lakes, until the mercury contamination became a problem. It certainly is possible to burn coal more cleanly than what we have done in the past, but it will always have an environmental impact.

On the other hand, we need cheap power, and lots of it. Coal is a plentiful resource in the US, and more than capable of meeting our energy demands for centuries. Are there alternatives? Certainly. The most viable alternative is nuclear, but the same greenies who want to block coal also block nuclear. We can develop wind and solar, but those technologies are not capable of providing the vast amounts of power that our society demands, at least not in the short term.

Right now, our choices are simple. We can continue to build coal fired plants, or we can build nuclear plants. Neither is perfect, but nuclear can meet our power needs now, without the greenhouse gas emissions and environmental damage of coal. The future will offer us other alternatives, but for the next few decades nuclear can carry the load.

Posted by: itpro_z   Posted on: 06/25/09 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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