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?

Looking through the comments from the previous entry, someone mentioned nuclear power as an alternative to fossil fuels. While technically, it is a good alternative, I’m well aware of the risks of that. I don’t want to be irradiated and have all my hair fall out after growing it out! And it’s something I wouldn’t wish on anyone.

I did a bit of research and I see that nuclear power has come a long way from before. I’m still opposed to it because of the risks, but if this type of technology keeps growing, and the huge load it will take off the coal and oil plants, I may have to change my mind.

A big problem before was nuclear waste…now they can recycle the waste back into the plant! I also saw innovative security measures and devices, and fail-safes as well. If science keeps it up and keeps proving that they can make nuclear completely safe, consider me a convert.

There’s also clean coal. However, I think nuclear is going to advance faster than clean coal, and maybe, sometime in the future, we will be using both for our primary power needs.

I’m not all for nuclear yet, but I have my hopes up.