Video: The reality about ‘clean’ coal.
By on Feb 4th, 2009 at 2:30 pm
Video: The reality about ‘clean’ coal.
The coal industry has spent hundreds of millions of dollars trying to convince the public that clean coal is more than a myth (it isn’t). Its gimmicks have included “blogger brigades,” cartoon “coal carolers,” and countless ads. The Wonk Room’s Brad Johnson has put together a short video spoofing these ads to show the truth about dirty coal. Watch it:
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So clean coal is rather like a clean porn movie.
Going Back in Time:
February 4th, 2009 at 2:35 pmhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naZdfGqZtJ0
Coal isn’t clean. “Clean coal technology” is hardly defined, much less instantiated.
However, it hasn’t been demonstrated to be theoretically impossible either.
I do think that it is in the public interest to invest in research towards “clean coal” as a goal. As long as we don’t move that goalpost towards us, but rather seek to move towards it, that seems to me to be a worthy endeavor.
It’s not like we can make do without energy. It’s not even like any one source of energy is going to cover all of our needs. It’s not like any source of energy has unintended or other negative consequences. We should work towards making every possible source of energy workable, so that we can take advantage of the efficiencies enabled by diversification.
But the coal industry needs to stop acting like the tobacco industry by trying to convince everybody that their criminal behavior isn’t criminal. If they’d get on board selling the potential of clean coal as a kind of “holy grail” project, they would have a much better chance of doing OK in the long run. But the crap they’ve been pulling just makes it that much longer before it’s ever going to happen.
February 4th, 2009 at 2:36 pmThe coal industry is going through DT’s from Dick Cheney withdrawal. There is no other way to explain the Coal Carolers.
February 4th, 2009 at 2:37 pmSomeone had better inform Obama, because I’ve heard him tout “clean” coal.
February 4th, 2009 at 2:46 pmIn addition to the environmental damage done by ‘clean’ coal, we need to remember how the BushCo regime diluted the safety rules and let many coal executives off the hook after killing many miners in unsafe mines.
They are just as guilty in these deaths as they are for the ones in Iraq.
February 4th, 2009 at 2:46 pmWhat the hell is “clean coal”? is it simply the removal of the trace pollutants, like mercury, sulfure oxides, and such, or is it the removal of all the CO2 that is produced? Because if you are going to remove the CO2, the chief product of burning coal, you are going to pay a huge price in the energy return from burning it. I sure as hell would not trust the industry to make the definition.
February 4th, 2009 at 2:48 pmNotice how fast the news media forgot that little, inconvenient spill a few months ago. Wonder what is happening there !
February 4th, 2009 at 2:49 pmOnly as a temporary means of supporting our need while we move forward with green energy…..read, it does the mind good.
February 4th, 2009 at 3:01 pm.
The theory about “Clean Coal” is like promoting the theory of clean poop.
.
February 4th, 2009 at 3:02 pmfreeloveforum made an excellent “COAL” commercial along those ironic lines: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71kckb8hhOQ
February 4th, 2009 at 3:14 pmActually, clean coal is possible. It’s just REEEEAAAAAALLLL expensive which sort of trashes any possibility the coal burning industries are ever going to try and make it happen.
It is like the internal combustion engine. Been around for about 100 years and there isn’t much difference between Henry’s first units and today’s. Too many people have a vested interest to really advance the technology.
February 4th, 2009 at 3:16 pmThe only “myth” is in the dreams of the far left for energy for nothing. There is no technical, scientific, chemical, physical or engineering law or rule that makes clean coal impossible. None.
The fact that the coal company executive suites are manned by “bad” people doesn’t change the reality. Clean coal is possible and would be hugely beneficial, unlike the pipe dreams of wind, water, solar and geothermal power.
February 4th, 2009 at 3:32 pmSomewhat On Topic.
This just in.
Bush-era energy drilling leases in Utah canceled
In its first action to overturn Bush administration policies on energy, the Obama administration on Wednesday said it will cancel oil drilling leases on 100,000 acres near two national parks and other protected areas in Utah.
Zinnngggg! Suck on that Georgy Porgy
February 4th, 2009 at 3:51 pmDang. Just when I’d gotten my monkey wrench all oiled up.
February 4th, 2009 at 4:03 pmHayduke Lives!
Oldfart Says:
Clean coal is possible and would be hugely beneficial, unlike the pipe dreams of wind, water, solar and geothermal power.
Just to clear this up: are you claiming wind, water, solar and geothermal power are a) impossible, b) not beneficial, or c) both of the above?
February 4th, 2009 at 4:04 pmNevar,
Are you and I the only ones to remember the Late, Great Mr. Abbey? (He was the main reason one of my Undergrad degrees was in Environmental Science).
February 4th, 2009 at 4:06 pmThose were the days, eh?
February 4th, 2009 at 4:13 pmI’m amazed at how few remember him and his works…
I still have a photo of him clipped from a magazine some 20 years ago, shotgun at arms, one foot proudly atop a blown out television set.
I looked at Abbey as the environmentalist’s Hunter Thompson.
February 4th, 2009 at 4:16 pmIn ‘84 there was a little hole in the wall gas station on the edge of Canyonlands, they had t-shirts with the images of Hayduke, Doc, and Seldom Seen….
February 4th, 2009 at 4:19 pmKid Charlemagne Says:
Someone had better inform Obama, because I’ve heard him tout “clean” coal.
No, he touted research and development to try to produce clean coal. Big difference from saying there currently is such a thing.
Oldfart Says:
Clean coal is possible and would be hugely beneficial, unlike the pipe dreams of wind, water, solar and geothermal power.
Your old (or new) farts (methane) are also a possible source of energy. Perhaps you should volunteer to live in a research biodome where said flatulance can be collected and utilized.
February 4th, 2009 at 4:57 pmLot of money for coal in the stimulus:
February 4th, 2009 at 5:39 pm
Just a silly aside here but urban legend has it that Nikola Tesla once approached JP Morgan with an idea that would have turned the earth into a giant battery and all people would have to do would be to drive a stake and they could get power.
Morgan asked him how he could charge for that. Tesla said he had no idea. Morgan didn’t invest.
February 4th, 2009 at 6:33 pmoldfart, lots of folks told Wilbur and Orville they were dreamers. And getting into space was a pipe dream. Horseless carriages were foolishness. Computers were absolute science fiction when I was a kid.
Harumph. Dang foolish notions.
February 4th, 2009 at 6:37 pmElBruce@2
If only they could make sludge useful. It would be a goal mine.
February 5th, 2009 at 12:28 amOldfart Says:
The only “myth” is in the dreams of the far left for energy for nothing. There is no technical, scientific, chemical, physical or engineering law or rule that makes clean coal impossible. None.
The fact that the coal company executive suites are manned by “bad” people doesn’t change the reality. Clean coal is possible and would be hugely beneficial, unlike the pipe dreams of wind, water, solar and geothermal power.
I was completely agreeing with you right up until the last part. The biggest myth is that we need to somehow pit our energy alternatives against each other and declare one of them to be a winner. That’s exactly the method that conservatives have used to prevent progress on energy alternatives for decades. How many times has Bush touted some vague future technological energy breakthrough while increasing dependence on oil alone?
Wind, water, solar, geothermal, nuclear, oil, natural gas, biofuels, and clean coal (provided it can be invented) would all be part of the only sensible long-term energy policy. All of them have downsides. But any of those downsides can be somewhat minimized by having production split up among as many different methods as possible, which maximizes flexibility.
.
Zero Says:
The coal ash spill was caused by that decades old shining jewel of FDR’s New Deal, the Tennessee Valley Authority.
You would think that in eighty years they might have upgraded their mining metholology, along with capacity.
.
Game of Life Says:
If only they could make sludge useful. It would be a goal mine.
There’s gotta be some way of filtering out all them heavy metals and arsenic…
February 5th, 2009 at 10:56 am