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It is amazing that Peabody Coal has chosen to do this. Right on the tail of Clean Coal Carolers, Peabody is throwing sun glasses on ever-so cool clean coal.

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Amid all the hullaboo about Clean Coal, most focus on the issue of CO2 emissions. In fact, there is a partial truth about sort-of less dirty coal, ever-improving filtering of particulates is creating ever more fly ash. And, that fly ash either needs to be used (concrete, gypsum board, etc) or simply stored indefinitely. A […]

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The “Clean Coal” fantasy has a myriad of angles to consider. Whether we’re discussing mercury and tuna (and limitations on feeding children canned tuna fish), CO2 emissions and global warming, the atrocity of mountain-top removal, the diesel burnt in moving coal from mine to electricity plant, black lung disease, the poverty of mining regions, and […]

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Sometime it is hard to wrap one’s head around an issue. How can anyone be “for” mountain top removal? While I’d disagree, vehemently, economic necessity forcing an ugly choice at least would be a more reasoned starting point. But, as with caroling lumps of coal, there are those in the industry who heart MTR. And, […]

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In a time of year when it can be hard to go into public without being overwhelmed by Christmas carols, the sound of jingling bells can sicken many of us. And, it is hard for many to associate this season and carols with any form of religiousity due to the mass commercialization of across the […]

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Today, Al Gore and a coalition of leading environmental organizations are launching This is REALITY.org. Simply put, despite all the glowing ads that you’ve seen and bipartisan romancing of clean coal, “clean coal” remains not much more than powerpoint slides and technological dreams that might (MIGHT) work in 20 years or so, at a very […]

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Certain words and phrases seem to roll off the toungue. For some, when it comes to energy, “coal is indispensable” seems to be one of those terms. On 11 November, a Brookings Institution team released a “letter” to President-Elect Barack Obama and had a panel presentation in which these words just rolled from the keypad […]

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Thursday, the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Environmental Appeals Board basically ordered that Best Available Control Technology (BACT) for Carbon Dioxide (CO2) must be part of air pollution permits for all new coal plants. Impact? Roughly put, all new domestic coal-fired electricity plants just got stopped hard in their tracks. And, the market noticed. Friday, major […]

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To be clear, “clean coal” is an oxymoronic statement, at least for the next few decades. From mining through the emitted pollutants in the burning process to the resulting ash, there are many “dirty” aspects to coal. Thanks to the dedicated efforts of a Sierra Club legal team led by Joanne Spalding, the future prospects […]

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This diary will be a relative short and sweet one. For once, no links with the supporting evidence and material … Just a very simply outline of how the United States could, without Herculean efforts, eliminate coal-fired electricity from the electrical system by 2030. And, do so while improving the economy. Very simply, 50% of […]

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