Coal the Culprit - not Oil

[RWebb]

relatively speaking, of course

popular account of an Amer. Geophys. paper...

http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/12/oil-not-the-cli.html

[Canada Kev]

Damn, us Albertans are still guilty. Almost all of our electricity is coal generated. And they use a lot of it, too. In one generating station where I often work, they have a conveyer to run the coal into the plant. The amount of coal transported inside is measured in hundreds of pounds per MINUTE.

At least we have lots of it. So we can make the air really, really bad...

-kevin

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by RWebb

relatively speaking, of course

popular account of an Amer. Geophys. paper...

http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/12/oil-not-the-cli.html

You do know how many ironies this post and the link occasion, right?

[RWebb]

I didn't keep an exact count

[Les Paul]

In about an hour I will be unloading the last coal train at a chemical plant I work at for the next 3 years. It is high BTU so called clean coal. I think this place has averaged 1 coal train per week for 29 years. 1 coal train has over 100 cars at 110-115 tons per car. And this plant uses it because it was/is so much cheaper than natural gas although we sit in the big ass middle of numerous gas fields. Shutting this mf down to make what we make in China cheaper go figure. Slashing 500 jobs in a town of 20,000 to let the chinese make what we make cheaper. Not safer, better, way less polution standards, no scrubbers on their coal boilers. I digress. In 3 years they are coming back with this plant only turning the coal boilers into basically a big power plant instead of using the steam for heat exchangers.

So when it comes back on line they'll burn 2 coal trains per week of low btu highly sulfurous crap because it is even cheaper. I'm so proud of these losers and so glad to be retired in 7 months.

[pwd72s]

Didn't Obama say he was going to put the coal companies out of biz through taxation?

[Tobra]

Originally Posted by pwd72s

Didn't Obama say he was going to put the coal companies out of biz through taxation?

that is just American coal companies, that have actual emission standards

Best part of that link is the comments, like these two.

I read about this before, and it would seem as though McCain's nuclear reactor construction plan wasn't so bad after all.

I voted for Slick (Obama), and every day I question that decision.

Posted by: Chris | Dec 17, 2008 1:37:51 PM

@Chris
You and me both buddy, you and me both...

Posted by: AJ | Dec 17, 2008 1:43:14 PM

[pwd72s]

Guess I should have written my post in green. Speaking of "green"...these folks want to remove dams, get rid of coal burning plants, HATE nuclear power...

They don't like to talk about how many raptors the wind generators chew up...

And the solar thing just isn't working out.

Back to kerosene lamps and wood stoves?

[schamp]

Without coal about 50-60% of the United States would be dark. No power period. Think we need coal? It takes around 17 to 20 years to get a nuke plant up and going, from permit to start up. We have about 300 years worth of coal within the US. Don't think any of the large coal plants will be closing. Here is a problem. Obama puts Carol Browner in as Head of Energy. She would not even talk to anyone from a company that burned coal when she was head of the EPA. Clinton had her at the EPA for 8 years I think maybe 4. I know where a small coal plant is that can only run for a certain number of hours (around 2500) per year. Anything over that is big fines. They are converting it to fuel. Think the price per KW hour went up? Not saying we don't need to do something but it going to take years and not just his first year in office.

[mattdavis11]

We're going to be without if so. I don't think the rest of the US is ready for Texas to pack up and haul ass. Texas is on Brock Obama's hit list, no doubt, but I don't think he understands the repercussions.

[The Gaijin]

Burn coal and release carbon, burn oil and release carbon, burn natural gas and release carbon...

Why does coal get the bad rap?

[mattdavis11]

It's a dirty industry, as in people perish to remove it from the ground while not smoking.

[imcarthur]

Originally Posted by The Gaijin

Burn coal and release carbon, burn oil and release carbon, burn natural gas and release carbon...

Why does coal get the bad rap?

Go to Beijing in the winter. The air stinks of inefficient coal burning furnaces on apartment buildings, offices etc. As soon as you step out of the airport you smell it.

Ian

[mattdavis11]

That's because they burn lignite. Buy bituminous coal from Colorado.

[The Gaijin]

So - we are all in agreement we should be moving forward to build modern nuclear power plants?

[mattdavis11]

Originally Posted by The Gaijin

So - we are all in agreement we should be moving forward to build modern nuclear power plants?

No, just in agreement we need not move to China.

[The Gaijin]

Just don't blame me for global warming, acid rain and the future rise in oil prices.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by The Gaijin

So - we are all in agreement we should be moving forward to build modern nuclear power plants?

Anyone that makes any other conclusion is a fool. Were it not for years of ignorant environmentalists blocking the construction of new nuclear power plants, today we'd have enough new plants to forget about burning coal.

[The Gaijin]

Three Mile Island. Designed in the 50's, built in the 60's, blew up in the 70's and still running our energy policy in the new Millennium.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by The Gaijin

Three Mile Island. Designed in the 50's, built in the 60's, blew up in the 70's and still running our energy policy in the new Millennium.

Yeah, and how many were hurt or killed in that incident? Oh yeah, ZERO. It's more dangerous to have a pool in your backyard than a nuclear powerplant.