Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search

October 6, 2008 10:25:21 AM CDT

Learn about Newser Points »

« Back to the grid | Next story »

'Clean Coal' Advocates Blowing Smoke

Posted Jul 17, 08 11:31 AM CDT in Technology,  Opinion,  Science & Health 

(Newser) – “Clean coal” is the buzzword of the moment, with industry groups and presidential candidates swearing by a work-in-progress technique known as carbon capture and storage (CCS), which ultimately buries carbon dioxide emissions deep underground. But Jeff Goodell, writing in Yale Environment 360, doesn’t buy it. “We don’t need to bury our problems,” Goodell writes. “We need to reinvent our world.”

CCS has too many logistical problems to be feasible: For one, the technology to make it work on a global scale necessary for coal plants doesn’t exist yet. It may never. Plus, nobody knows whether all that carbon will really stay underground, or who will be liable if it leaks. Ultimately, Goodell says, “betting our future on an expensive, unproven technology like CCS is, at best, reckless.”

Source Yale Environment 360

0 comments | Print E-mail | Digg Seed this on Newsvine Add this link to Del.icio.us StumbleUpon

Related Newser Stories

  • Green Vandals Acquitted on Climate Change Defense

    Sep 11, 08 11:25 AM CDT
    Green Vandals Acquitted on Climate Change Defense Six Greenpeace activists who vandalized a coal-fired power station in Britain have won acquittal using the threat of global warming as a defense, reports the Guardian. The activists, who caused more than $50,000 in damage to a smokestack, said they were trying to prevent property damage from the plant’s emissions to locations around the world. The verdict is expected to trigger similar protests.
    More »

  • Plans to Stop Global Warming Straight From Sci-Fi Novels

    Sep 5, 08 3:39 PM CDT
    Plans to Stop Global Warming Straight From Sci-Fi Novels Scientists worry humans might not curb carbon emissions in time to save the planet from irreversible harm, and some have suggested a radical concept called geo-engineering, the Economist reports. Once the stuff of science fiction, geo-engineering would combat global warming by manipulating the environment. While promising, critics warn ecological consequences could be disastrous and might encourage nations to continue using fossil fuels. More »

  • Next Prez Will Have to Save the Planet

    Aug 28, 08 2:00 PM CDT
    Next Prez Will Have to Save the Planet Whether it's John McCain or Barack Obama, the next US president will instantly face "the most momentous political challenge of all time"—saving the world from catastrophic climate change, Carlos Pascual and Strobe Talbott write in the Washington Post. We have 7 years to begin reducing greenhouse gas emissions to avoid catastrophe: a submerged Manhattan, an even dryer Nevada, and millions of "climate refugees" the world over, they note. More »

  • China's Power Pollution to Pass US

    Aug 27, 08 6:56 AM CDT
    China's Power Pollution to Pass US Carbon emissions from China's mostly coal-fired electric power industry will exceed those of the US this year for the first time, the Washington Post reports. China's runaway economic growth means its power industry's carbon emissions will double by 2020, predicts the Center for Global Development, a Washington-based think tank. Power generation accounts for 27% of all carbon emissions worldwide.
      More »

  • China, India Reject G8 Carbon Plan

    Jul 9, 08 8:40 AM CDT
    China, India Reject G8 Carbon Plan Neither China nor India agreed to adopt the G8's targets for cutting carbon emissions by 2050 at their joint meeting today. Asia's two big developing economies, joined by Brazil, Mexico, and South Africa, said carbon reductions would endanger their growth and exacerbate poverty, and that rich nations should clean up the mess they had created. The emerging economies' holdout was only one of many signs that the G8 is losing clout, reports the Financial Times. More »

This undated image released by the U.S. Department of Energy shows an artist rendering of a next-generation CCS FutureGen power plant.   (AP Photo)
A coal power station spews smoke in Beijing, China.   (AP Photo/Andy Wong, FILE)
This undated image released by the U.S. Department of Energy shows an artist rendering of a next-generation CCS FutureGen power plant.   (AP Photo/U.S. Department of Energy, file)
Smoke stacks from the NRG power plant located just outside of Jewett, Texas tower over Texas Highway 39, Nov. 28, 2007.   (AP Photo/Nick Simonite)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
Our editors also recommend:

Threads (
1
 of 4)

Tags

climate change  • environment  • carbon emissions  • coal  • coal power  • carbon sequestration


Loading...

Premium Articles from HighBeam

Find more articles like this

Today's Most Popular

Loading...

Other Science & Health Stories

What is Newser?

2008 Codie Finalist

Newser gives you more news in less time. We search for the best and most important stories all over the web, read them for you, and deliver concise and sharp summaries—along with links to the full text. Newser provides a way to stay on top of an ever-expanding horizon of news and opinion—politics, sports, business, trends, technology, personalities, crimes, and controversies. Newser keeps you not just better informed, but, with our signature graphic interface and smart condensed format, more enjoyably informed.

Learn more »