WHAT IS CLEAN COAL?

According to the United Nations Panel on Climate Change, the burning of coal is a major contributor to global warming.  In response to this, coal companies have started advertising “clean coal” technology.  But what is it?  And is it a good energy source for the future?

Clean coal technology can mean several different things, but the most common definition is that instead of releasing CO2 into the air after burning coal, the carbon dioxide is stored underground.

ADVANTAGES

·      Carbon dioxide is not immediately released into the atmosphere.

·      Supplies of coal are available to us now.

DISADVANTAGES

·      Carbon dioxide that is “hidden” could possibly leak into the atmosphere anyway or into our ground water, unless it is closely monitored!

·      Major environmental problems result from mining the coal in the first place.

·      Pollutants still exist, but just released in a different way.

This sounds like a similar problem I talked about with nuclear technology.  The poisonous remnants of creating the energy still exist, we just hide them in a place that seems to be less harmful (for the time being.)  Sounds like another temporary solution to a much bigger problem!

Did you know that last year, private companies spent 35 million dollars advertising “clean coal” technology?  If there really is no way to get clean energy from the burning of coal, then why is so much money being spent advertising a myth?  Does it make us feel better if we think burning coal is clean? 


Did you know that the United States only has enough coal reserves to last us for the next 200 years?  If coal is another limited resource, why spend so much money pretending to make it clean instead of investing in new technology that is actually clean?

NUCLEAR POWER - PROS AND CONS

Scientists have attributed global warming to the burning of fossil fuels.  One energy technology that does NOT emit greenhouse gases is nuclear power.

Last week, I went on a tour of the Science and Nature Center at a Nuclear Power Plant with my dad.  Here is some information about the advantages and disadvantages of nuclear power!

ABOVE:  A TYPICAL NUCLEAR REACTOR COOLING TOWER

ADVANTAGES:

·      Does not add to the greenhouse effect (no smoke or carbon dioxide!)

·      Just a small amount of fuel can produce a very large amount of energy.  (One ton of Uranium produces more energy than is produced by several MILLION tons of coal or barrels of oil!)

·      Produces small amounts of waste.

·      Nuclear power plants don’t require as much space as other types of facilities.

DISADVANTAGES:

·      The small amount of waste that is produced is VERY, VERY dangerous.

·      Nuclear waste must be hidden away for many thousands of years so that the radioactivity can die away.

·      Nuclear waste that is buried may be affected or released by floods, earthquakes or deliberate attacks.

·      An accident at a nuclear power plant can be a MAJOR disaster!  Radioactivity can kill people and animals or cause cancer.

·      Nuclear energy comes from Uranium and Uranium is NOT renewable.  Just like coal and oil, we will run out of it someday!

Although nuclear energy is delicate and has caused problems in the past, a modern nuclear power plant can produce power without releasing toxins into the environment (if everything goes right.)  Energy produced by coal and oil cannot do the same.

Is nuclear energy the next step away from dirty energy sources before we can harness the power of sun, wind and water more efficiently?  What do you think?  Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?  What else do you know about nuclear power?

ABOVE:  THE NUCLEAR POWER PLANT I VISITED AT SEABROOK STATION IN NEW HAMPSHIRE.

STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS

Two days ago, President Barack Obama made his first state of the union address.  Of course, I was excited to hear him talk about his plans for helping our country “go green!”

The President talked about creating “clean energy jobs” (cool!) and passing a “comprehensive energy and climate bill” (very cool!)  He then talked about the importance of “clean nuclear power plants,” “oil and gas development,” “advanced biofuels” and “clean coal technologies.”

What is all that stuff?  None of it sounds very green to me!  Mr. Obama didn’t talk about solar, wind or geothermal power—the cleanest known energy technologies of today!

For the next few days, I will try to research the energy sources he did mention and provide information about each of them!  First up—nuclear energy!

ICE CHALLENGE - TO SALT, OR NOT TO SALT?

Tonight I walked outside my house and saw a lot of ice on the front steps, so I grabbed a handful of salt from the pail at the front door and tossed it down to melt the ice more quickly.

MY CHALLENGE:  Find out if deicing salt is harmful to the environment.  If so, how much?

What is the impact a cupful of salt on your front steps has, compared to millions of tons distributed over roads across our nation?  Are there different methods of deicing that are better than sodium chloride (NaCl)?  How does salt runoff affect humans, wildlife, soil, air, or water?

REMINDER:  If you plan on answering any of these questions for me, please keep in mind that I'm not interested in opinions, I'm only interested in facts!  So let's bring some facts to the table so we can form an educated opinion.

I look forward to your responses!

MY FIRST FEW RESPONSES!

So I wrote my first green blog yesterday and sent e-mails to all my friends about it!  I got a few responses from people who said they already use canvas bags, but told me to keep spreading the word.  I got no responses from people who decided to make a change today (although I'm hoping some did and just didn't say so!)  And I got one response from my friend Trevor who told me that he didn’t understand my point, thinks the whole "going green" movement is lame and doesn’t believe in global warming.

First of all, I told him, global warming has almost nothing to do with plastic bags.  Second of all, why NOT make small, green changes if they are simple ones?  I mean, using canvas bags isn’t even that hard to do when you think about it.  I don't know, it was really upsetting that Trevor argued with me over something I think is so logical.  It also really drives me crazy that some people refuse to go green because they think it's "not cool."  Oh, and somebody kicked over my snowman on purpose today too.  Maybe there’s just too many people in the world who don’t care about the environment for me to actually make a difference.  I don't know...

But here's some good news!  I officially have two fans of my blog!  Welcome Pookala and Ankerman! You two have just put me back into a good, green mood!  More to come friends!

A WORD ABOUT THE PLASTIC BAG

Did you know that each American uses between 300 and 700 plastic bags per year?  Most of these bags are used only one time (some of them for mere seconds!) before being thrown away.

Did you know that only 1% of plastic bags in the U.S. are ever recycled?

Did you know that it takes 10-20 years for a single plastic bag to decompose?  Of course, this is only if it gets caught in a tree branch or sits on your lawn all that time.  Plastic bags buried in landfill can take up to 1,000 years to decompose!

Did you know that when garbage items (including paper products) are buried, their decomposition slows almost to a halt because they are not exposed to air or sunlgiht?  In digs through old garbage dumps, newspapers from the 1930s have been found that are still completely legible!



If you really want to jump aboard the “green” bandwagon – you should start using canvas bags when you go shopping!  Keep some in your car, your garage, your trunk, your desk, or inside your carry-all bag so you never forget to bring them with you!  

Make a pledge that you will make this green change today!  Don’t be embarrassed to carry reusable bags!

And the next time a cashier asks if you’d like a bag to carry that single item to your car, don’t feel weird to say, “No, thanks!” We should all start feeling weird when we waste!