How Polluters Control State Governments

[RWebb]

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/01/us/coal-ash-spill-reveals-transformation-of-north-carolina-agency.html?hpw&rref=science

[Bugsinrugs]

I read that article this morning. Does not bode well for the Governor.

[matt f]

If you like electricity, coal ash and accidents happen.
As a nation, we continue to rely on coal for approx. 47% of our electricity generation.
As a disclaimer, I live in coal country.
I enjoy a warm home.

Matt

[BE911SC]

Should shorten the title to: "How Money Controls Everything."

[Rtrorkt]

Can you say Tea Party Republican?

This has nothing to do with how we generate our heat and everything to do with industry coop ting politicians. Guess Matt will trade the health of his family for unsafe conditions. Coal can be safe, though not carbon friendly, if companies actually cared how they operate

[onewhippedpuppy]

Were it not for the NIMBYs we could go nuclear. Funny how everybody likes electricity but nobody wants a powerplant nearby, especially on the coasts.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Agreed 100%. Public is too stupid (Fukushima!) to understand how things like pebble bed reactors could transform our generating needs safely.

[Tervuren]

That article is like trying to pick out just one bat and follow it when they swarm out from under a bridge. :\

[RWebb]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

Were it not for the NIMBYs we could go nuclear. Funny how everybody likes electricity but nobody wants a powerplant nearby, especially on the coasts.

The lay public will be more easily convinced if we stop having TMI, and Fuku accidents, not to mention the exposure last week in NM, which did not involve a backyard issue (unless you claim the entire continent as your backyard). I consider waste disposal to be the most serious (real) issue re nuke power.

re: the W. coast - you don't want one near a fault; re both coasts: it's better if the cooling apparatus is not inundated

Nonetheless, powerplant design continues, including at Or. State Univ.

Just recently I watch james hanson try to use science to convince a room-full of ... how do I put this politely? um... non-knowledgeable people that nuke power was much safer than they thought and required to prevent future catastrophe. It was revealing, not pretty.

[porwolf]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

Were it not for the NIMBYs we could go nuclear. Funny how everybody likes electricity but nobody wants a powerplant nearby, especially on the coasts.

Nuclear power is a dead end. Those power plants create nuclear waste that stay radioactive for 1000s of years. That is a 1000 year liability. Who is going to pay for that? The answer is not more dirty power generation but more conservation. I have seen figures that prove that the US per capita energy use is twice as high as in Europe, with practically equal standard of living. There is a huge opportunity to cut US energy consumption, much more effective than more dirty power, and a lot less expensive.

[kach22i]

Originally Posted by matt f

If you like electricity, coal ash and accidents happen.
As a nation, we continue to rely on coal for approx. 47% of our electricity generation.
As a disclaimer, I live in coal country.
I enjoy a warm home.

Matt

The future is all up for coal.

The Rural Blog: 1/6/13 - 1/13/13

[kach22i]

Originally Posted by RWebb

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/01/us/coal-ash-spill-reveals-transformation-of-north-carolina-agency.html?hpw&rref=science

The environmental agency’s embattled secretary, Mr. Skvarla, a McCrory appointee, pushed back last week on criticism of last year’s deal, under which the $50 billion company was fined only $99,111 for leaks from ponds at two power plants. The accusation that his department “and Duke Energy got together and made some smoky back-room deal with a nominal fine is simply not true,” Mr. Skvarla told reporters.

Sounds familiar, I grew up near the largest industrial complex in the world (at the time), the Ford Rouge Plant. I was told by people that Ford paid the city of Dearborn a $500 a day fine for polluting up the air and river. The horror stories I could tell.

[Aragorn]

Originally Posted by kach22i

The future is all up for coal.

That depends on where the coal is being mined and whether it is for export or domestic energy uses. Appalachian coal is trending down domestically, whereas western coal is trending up for domestic purposes.

U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) - Sector