Clean Coal? - Take Action!

On Monday I reported that Dynegy is building six new coal-fired power plants. They claim that these power plants use "clean coal technology". What the heck is that?

Dynegy plans to complete the Sandy Creek Power Plant in Riesel, Texas (east of Waco) in 2012. Just when you think that the country will be making moves towards more environmentally sound energy sources, more coal-fired plants are being built. The NYTimes reported (April 23) that coal-fired plants are also going up in Europe. In the next five years, "European countries are expected to put into operation about 50 coal-fired plants" and Italy will increase its reliance on coal from 14 to 33 percent. Why is this happening?

Here's my summary:

• There is plenty of coal. It is projected to last for the next 200 years. (of course, we have to blow up mountains to get to it, but that's okay because I don't live near a mountain.)
• Coal is relatively cheap. (Low grade coal, which gives off less energy per ton, is even cheaper.)
• Companies have done some fancy greenwashing, claiming they use "clean coal technology". What's that? Basically it means that less soot and gases (nitrous oxide, sulfur dioxide) are emitted into the air. That's good, but it does NOT EFFECT EMISSION OF CARBON DIOXIDE.
• Companies say that in the future they will use carbon capture technology to store the carbon emissions underground. That's nice, but this technology does not exist yet, and when (if?) it does, it will be very expensive to implement. In addition, stored carbon can be dangerous if there is a leak.

We are already in trouble with the current level of emissions, and adding coal-fired plants just makes it worse. Power companies need to invest in cleaner power sources. People everywhere need to work towards more efficient use of power.

If Dynegy goes through with all 6 plants, it will become U.S. Coal-Fired Polluter #1! The increased emissions from this ONE company will make our personal efforts irrelevant. Should we despair? NO! Should we stop taking personal action? Of COURSE not! But the more I read about this, the more I realize that we must make our voices heard.

What can we do?

1. Write to Dynegy and tell them what you think:

Corporate Headquarters

1000 Louisiana Street
Suite 5800
Houston, Texas 77002
713.507.6400

2. If you live in the Houston area, join the protest during the shareholder's meeting:
May 14, Protest outside Dynegy shareholders’ meeting, Wednesday, 9am to 1pm, in Houston, at the Galleria at on 5100 West Alabama, between Post Oak and Sage Road.

3. Join the Sierra Club's National Campaign against Coal-Fired Power Plants:
http://www.sierraclub.org/coal/takeaction/

Earth Day Eve

Tomorrow is Earth Day. Do you have anything special planned?

I keep thinking back to Garbage -- the Revolution Starts at Home. In the movie, a man whose life is basically ruined by the coal mining surrounding him says "think of this when you turn on your lights". He is surrounded by a wasteland. He hears explosions several times a day, which cause his land to crack. There are cracks hundreds of feet deep that just appear in the middle of his land. Families that live near the mine live with polluted air that makes them and their families sick. There is an elementary school directly in the line of a huge lake of toxic waste created by the mining. The man in this segment refuses to sell his land, but his fight against the corporations seems so futile... it's sickening.

How is your energy produced? Chances are that it's coal. More than half of the energy in the US is from coal-powered power plants, which produce HUGE amounts of greenhouse gases.

We need to reduce our reliance on coal and invest in clean energy such as solar and wind. But that is not enough! We must increase efficiency. Some may say that this will cause a loss of jobs. I disagree -- new jobs will be needed in research and development of efficient technology, and quality of life will be improved for all.

Dynegy, a Texas-based company, has plans for six new coal-powered plants. They have been targeted by the Sierra Club for their pollution. According to Sierra Club:

Taken together, Dynegy’s six planned coal-fired power plants would spew an estimated 44 million tons of global warming pollution into the air each year – making them one of the single largest sources of such pollution in the U.S.


One of the single largest sources.....

So what can we do? I suggest that, in honor of Earth Day, we do two things:
1. Join the protest. Go to the Sierra Club website and sign the petitions. Tell your friends.
2. Turn off the lights you're not using. Every time I turn on the lights now, I think of that man in the movie, surrounded by blown-up mountains. He is living a hell on earth so that I can leave the light on in an empty room? That's just wrong.