Hailed as one of the possible solutions to the fossil fuel emission problem, clean coal is coal whose sulfur dioxide is removed and whose carbon dioxide can be recovered easily. It’s still a subject for debate, though, since the technology is theoretical. Here are a few facts about this new type of energy.
1. Not all coal impurities can be removed. Clean coal is essentially an oxymoron! We can’t remove all the impurities from coal, and capturing the ones that remain is still not available on a wide scale. It still gives more emissions than wind or solar power.
2. It is expensive. This may change in the future, but right now the manufacture and burning of clean coal costs quite a bit of money, making renewable energy sources more cost-effective.
3. It may not even happen. There are too many faults with the technology right now, and incorrect implementation will damage our environment because of the possible leaks and emissions it can cause!
I’m all for alternate energy sources, but for me, clean coal is a bad choice due to better alternatives already available, like wind, solar and hydroelectric. What do you think about clean coal? Is it viable?
3 Comments so far
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What a great list! Clean coal does sound like a joke from SNL or something. Perhaps they will do a bit on it for next Christmas.
By venturellak on 05.14.08 7:24 pm | Permalink
It’s completely naive if not downright moronic to think that emissions from power production can be totally eliminated with current technology. The point of clean coal is to provide a cleaner alternative to what has been used in the past. Solar and wind power aren’t reliable except in very specific parts of the world and for the rest of the world could only, at best, act as a supplement to a more reliable source (fossil fuel or nuclear). Hydroelectric raises a whole other list of concerns regarding the environment with the displacement of people, wildlife, loss of liveable/farmable land, etc. Coal is plentiful and here to stay for decades to come for much of the world. May as well have a cleaner version to burn.
By evan on 05.16.08 2:36 pm | Permalink
This sounds like every single new energy source. It’s hyped using the best possible theoretical speculations. When it actually comes to us it’s the same old same old dressed up in a pretty dress.
Coal is coal and if it was made clean then this would use energy that could otherwise be powering our computers so we could blog about it.
If The Greatest Generation worried about cleanliness and cost, we would not be in this situation needing to worry about coal clean or not.
Here’s my prediction. When oil is gone, all the coal in the world will be dug up and burned as is. If the US does not do it someone else will. People will go to whatever pristine place in the world, shave off all the soil, take out the coal and burn it so they can drive around showing off their new cars to one another.
By Leroy Glinchy on 05.17.08 11:44 am | Permalink
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