Coal Power Online

Amy L asked:


The question was found in an interview with Hunter Lovins, who said of nuclear power:

“Again, it is not clean in carbon terms. If you count the entire fuel cycle of nuclear̶digging the stuff up, enriching it, transporting it, building the very concrete intensive reactors which as they cure release CO2—nuclear is not carbon neutral.”

Her answer to the question is towards the end of the interview.

http://www.motherjones.com/interview/2008/05/interview-hunter-lovins.html

It doesn’t seem like anyone has looked at Lovins answer to the question:

“MJ: Would you rather live next to a nuclear power plant or a coal burning plant?

HL: The nukes. Coal plants spew out mercury and the nuclear safety record is actually not that bad. The real harm is the entire fuel cycle.”

Doug T asked:


Everyone knows “Clean Coal” is scam. Why would we allow such manipulative and deceptive advertising? If you can’t smoke in a restaurant why can you pump billions of tons of C02 into the atmosphere? When will rich concerned citizens start to purchase and shut down coal power plants?

Stan S asked:


Coal, oil, nuclear, building these things when we have the alternatives is just crazy, especially considering how damaged our climate is already with the level of CO2 emissions, oil spills, mining pollution, contaminated water and soil, and the radiation from chernoybl and three mile island and who knows what little leaks people don’t even know about from unsafe nuclear waste storage. And yet there all either being built or plans have been made to build many more of them. If we got these options for future power production off the table it would explode the green clean energy economy and would get those companies that are planning on building these incredibly foolish and destructive power plants to build green ones instead. Anyone else feel the same way? How could the internet be used to successfully stop these foolhardy dirty power plants from being built? Have people started already and I just don’t have the right links? If you know any your more then invited to post them!

Amy L asked:


From the article in the link below:

“Officials weighing federal applications by utilities to build new coal-fired power plants cannot consider their greenhouse gas output, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency ruled late Thursday. Some environmentalists fear the decision will clear the way for the approval of several such plants in the last days of the Bush administration.”

What “sound policy considerations” is Mr. Johnson referring to in setting aside last years Supreme Court decision that the agency could regulate carbon dioxide, the most prevalent global warming gas, under existing law?

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/19/business/19coal.html?_r=1

hehehe asked:


ten points for best answer

Coal is a portable climate. It carries the heat of the tropics to Labrador and the polar circle; and it is the means of transporting itself whithersoever it is wanted. Watt and Stephenson whispered in the ear of mankind their secret, that a half-ounce of coal will draw two tons a mile, and coal carries coal, by rail and by boat, to make Canada as warm as Calcutta, and with its comfort brings its industrial power.

J S asked:


What’s your prediction, will the coal industry prevail?

Environmentalists Win Big EPA Ruling
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1859049,00.html

“In a nutshell it sends [new plants ]back to the drawing board to address their CO2 emissions,” says Bruce Nilles, director of the Sierra Club’s National Clean Coal campaign. “In the short term it freezes the coal industry in its tracks.”

Laoshu Laoshi asked:


if they didn’t keep their doors and windows open all day long in the winter? I’m told the reason to open the windows is for fresh air. But the air in many places in China is far from fresh. Some days I can see it in the hallways of my school. Between November and February I think my city had about 10 days where we could see “blue” sky. I say “blue” because when I climb the mountains near my home I can still see the haze settled over the city. Many businesses, schools, and hospitals leave the doors open all day, yet they are running heaters within these buildings. Those heaters are usually in addition to the government controlled radiant heat systems, that don’t work that great, built into most buildings. On top of that, many people still wear their winter coats inside. My students stay in theirs all day. So as most buildings are cold enough as it is in the winter, wouldn’t it be better to keep the windows and doors closed, and buy a few plants to freshen the air?
I ask this question because the recent storms China suffered caused a huge reduction in coal supplies for many cities. It got so cold in places that aren’t normally cold that many places came close to running out and coal miners had to give up their Lunar New Year holiday to work overtime to keep the country supplied with this horribly dirty fuel for their power plants and the government heating system. Perhaps if the normally cold places of China weren’t so wasteful of it’s electricity and heat, China wouldn’t need to produce nor burn nearly as much coal as they go through every year.
Gengi, radiant heat here is hot water pumped through pipes, or essentially a radiator, in the walls. My school put in an additional boiler system because by the time the water get up the mountain to us it’s no longer hot. Thus, the school uses more coal-fueled electricity to heat the water so we have some heat. It’s still not enough. Most of us have had to buy extra heaters to keep our rooms warm enough to keep us healthy.

Amy L asked:


From the article in the link below:

“Officials weighing federal applications by utilities to build new coal-fired power plants cannot consider their greenhouse gas output, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency ruled late Thursday. Some environmentalists fear the decision will clear the way for the approval of several such plants in the last days of the Bush administration.”

What “sound policy considerations” is Mr. Johnson referring to in setting aside last years Supreme Court decision that the agency could regulate carbon dioxide, the most prevalent global warming gas, under existing law?

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/19/business/19coal.html?_r=1

Graham M asked:


carbon capture and storage (CCS) coal power stations or nuclear power stations. CCS is were the CO2 is stored some how one way is as a liquid or it is filtered through a field of algae and used as animal feed and/or bio-fuel

Dr Jello asked:


Germany is phasing out nuclear power because of environmental concerns.

To replace this energy, the German government is approving new coal fired power plants.

Should other countries follow Germany’s example and replace nuclear power with coal?