Randi was just asking about Clean Coal

[EC]

IS this the alternative energy plan * was talking about last night?

This has been proven to be a scam and waste of our money, but it sure does make other people money....Like the RED states...although my relatives in West Virginia are getting fed up with the hill topping for coal, especially since it causes massive mud slides and rock slides after all the trees are removed. And coal is what causes the mercury emissions, especially since he relaxed the scrubbing regulations...

[mopinko]

1. part of the ill state of the state address also

state of the art clean coal plant in the works here. was mentioned in blaggo's state of the state.
i would be interested to know more. i bet there will be some mention in the illinois forum later. (nothing there now.)

[davidinalameda]

2. any mining operation causes environment nightmares

but the coal companies think that they're gods and can do no wrong and they'll stomp on anyone who tries

and this is especially true in West Virginia since the government there has been bought and paid for for decades by the coal companies

[LiberalEsto]

3. "Clean Coal" is like "Healthy Forests"

It's utter nonsense.

I happen to know a bit about this so-called energy of the future. Burning coal will create immense quantities of carbon dixoide- CO2 - one of the key greenhouse gases blamed for global warming.

Implementing "Clean" Coal requires that ways be found to dispose of this CO2 without releasing it into the atmosphere.

One of the plans being seriously considered is pumping liquified CO2 to the bottom of the oceans, in very deep areas, and hoping that the weight of the water will keep it from bubbling up like a giant, deadly burp. Or a slow trickle of CO2 into the atmosphere. Greenpeace conducted a study a couple of years ago and reported this deep-water disposal method is unfeasible and extremely risky to ships, marine life, and the atmosphere.

Also, is it cost-effective to burn coal for energy and then use more energy to capture, liquefy and ship the resulting CO2 over the oceans to selected disposal sites? I don't think so.

All that on top of the mining damage to the environment, and the mercury emissions, and everything else others have mentioned.