Clean Energy
|
| Coal: A Bad Bet |
|
|
|
|
There are three major concerns that make coal a bad bet for
Despite what the coal companies want to tell you, coal isn’t
“cheap.” Coal prices have risen considerably in the past year, and building
costs for new plants have escalated too – by more than 50 percent in some
cases. Impending global warming pollution caps, both at the regional and
national levels, are going to add hundreds of millions of dollars in additional
costs of running a single coal-fired power plant every year. Energy companies
want to pass those costs on to ratepayers even though there’s a better, less
financially risky way to provide power through
Coal-fired power plants are the largest source of mercury pollution in the country. When coal is burned to generate electricity, mercury in the coal is released into the atmosphere. Eventually the mercury falls to the earth in the form of rain and snow, which enters streams, lakes, oceans and reservoirs, contaminating many of the fish we eat. Mercury is linked to severe mental retardation, cerebral palsy, deafness, blindness and seizures. Coal plants also emit arsenic which is an especially poisonous. . It’s a known carcinogen that does not leave a person’s body once entering. That means that even small exposures can add up over time. In addition to leading to various types of cancer, long-term exposure to arsenic has been linked to major organ damage – including lung dysfunction, cirrhosis of the liver, reproductive problems, and death from multiple organ failure.
Coal fired power plants emit large amounts of global warming
pollution known as carbon dioxide. In 2007, the Supreme Court ruled that carbon
dioxide is a pollutant and it should be regulated by the Clean Air Act. Many other
states are beginning to make decisions to protect their air, water, climate and
public health from huge amounts emitted by coal-fired power plants.
Lastly, the proposed coal plants will cause significant and
adverse impacts on visibility at
|