Coal Power Online

Commercial for a electricity company that has decided to eliminate coal power.

Eco-village lives carbon neutral (02:13) ———

Aug 7 - Climate change campaigners set up their hamlet in Kent, southern England, trying to set an example in the shadow of a coal power station.

Much of the local news coverage of the week-long Climate Camp in Kent, southern England has centred on the relations between protesters and police.

Climate camp activists are planning a day of mass action against nearby Kingsnorth Power station on Saturday August 9th.

But what’s involved in setting up a low-carbon energy powered site for some 1,000 people in a field? Reuters Television paid a visit to the camp to find out.

Michelle Carlile-Alkhouri reports.

Activists from Greenpeace flagship, Rainbow Warrior, paint “Quit Coal” on the hull of 223-meter ship MV Sam John Spirit standing by to unload its cargo at the Pagbilao coal power plant in Quezon province, around 300 kms south of Manila 24 May 2008. Greenpeace calls on the Philippine government to halt all coal plant projects and coal expansion. Burning coal heavily emits carbon dioxide, one of the major causes of climate change

Wichita citizens confront their state Representatives about their votes on the Holcomb Plant Expansion

With only hours before election day, coal has become a major topic of Decision 2008.

Sunday, comments resurfaced from a taped interview Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama did with the San Francisco Chronicle in January.

In the interview, which has been available online for months, Obama talks about the importance of coal. He went on to talk about his cap and trade proposal to help curb global warming.

“If somebody wants to build a coal power plant they can, it’s just that it will bankrupt them because they are going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that’s being emitted,” Barack Obama said to the San Francisco Chronicle in January.

The campaign for Republican presidential candidate John McCain jumped on those comments today and is already sending out taped phone messages to voters in Ohio.

Campaigning in Marietta today, McCain’s running mate Sarah Palin mentioned the Obama comments.

“He said that, sure, if the industry wants to build coal-fired power plants, then they can go ahead and try, he says, but they can do it only in a way that will bankrupt the coal industry, and he’s comfortable letting that happen. And you got to listen to the tape,” Sarah Palin said.

The Obama campaign says the quote is being taken out of context and that Obama is actually from a coal state and is a strong supporter of the industry.

The campaign sent a statement today saying “the point Obama is making is that we need a transition from coal burning power plants built with old technology to plants built with advanced technologies.”

Monday, the San Francisco Chronicle pointed out the interview has been available on its website since January. It was critical of blogs which claimed the audio was hidden until this point.

On The Edge Today asked Neil Hendricks, the CEO of Sunbury Generation LP what he thinks of Obama’s comments on bankrupting the coal companies through taxes. For the full interview, go to FOX222.com.

“As many as 600,000 babies may be born in the U.S.A. each year with irreversible brain damage because pregnant mothers ate mercury-contaminated fish,the Enviromental Protection Agency says.U.S.A. TODAY

DR Coal Power Plant Controversy pt. 3

Sierra Club press conference opposing new coal power plants in Georgia.

Australian federal and state governments are supporting “clean coal” technology for electricity generation as part of the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (carbon trading) to reduce Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Using the carbon capture and storage method, the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions released by the highfalutin high polluting coal-fired power stations will be captured and then stored underground.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and other backwards thinking politicians like Peter Batchelor, Martin Ferguson and Penny Wong are promoting this unproven and expensive method as a solution to climate change.

Greens senator Bob Brown and other forward thinking people and organisations like Greenpeace are taking the issue of global warming seriously and think we should keep the coal in the ground and phase out polluting fossil fuels.

They’re calling on the government to give more support to environmentally friendly clean green renewable energy technologies such as solar, wind, tidal and geothermal power and also promote energy efficiency programs to consumers and industry.

Music: The Dissociatives - Thinking In Reverse