The Coen Brothers, of Oh Brother, Where Art Thou and Fargo fame, made a commercial on clean coal. Or rather, on its nonexistence. Check it out:
The commercial, of course, doesn't give any reasons, but the truth is that this is reality: there's no such thing as clean coal. The technology simply doesn't exist. It's a dream, right alongside ideas like electricity powered by solar panels in space. Theoretically it could work, but practically we have no idea how. It's become an accepted idea in political conversation, just like faster-than-light space travel has become an accepted idea in science fiction novels. It's fun to think about, but that doesn't make it real.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
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7 comments:
I can't watch the video since I'm at work, but yeah, I'm not sure how "clean coal" is supposed to work.
This is why we need to, for once, be like France and ramp up our nuclear power again.
haha! actually, although there are a lot of environmental concerns with nuclear, I'm in favor of nuclear power. It's NOT a long-term solution--it isn't sustainable or renewable (although Bush thinks it is)--but it's a good short-term solution.
The problem, of course, is that in order to get off fossil fuels, we need around 200 new nuclear plants, which would take at least 20 years to build. We don't have that kind of time. Which is why I'm always harping on conservation and lower energy living--it's the only solution that can happen FAST.
Lisa -
I'm doing the unthinkable -- attempting to communicate with you through your comment section. Please forgive me. I couldn't find an email address for you anywhere. I'm contacting you for two reasons: 1. I like your blog and would like to add it to my blog list at ecohomeguy.com. 2. I'm strongly inclined to launch beltline.net this year. I want it to have a team blog component and think you would be a great contributor. I hope to hear from you soon.
~ Burke, 404.421.9968
I feel pain to disagree with you Lisa, but I am not in favour of Nuclear power as it is an unsafe technology. Three Mile Island, Windscale and Chernobyl are just the tips of the iceberg and I am sure we all remember Karen Silkwood.
If only one tenth of the funding used to prop up the banks had been used for renemable research and production we would now be looking towards a better world.
hey lisa, happy to have found you and hear your thoughts on coal and alternatives. i have to agree that conservation might just be the only real solution at this point. i'm also a price theorist, though i know it would impact employment and have unintended negative effects on the poor, i think energy should cost us more since it's costing the earth so much.
Fr. Peter, I completely agree that we should have been investing in renewable, sustainable technology--not just recently, but a long time ago. Unfortunately, we haven't been, which puts us in a hard position now. There's only so much you can do in a short amount of time. Like I said, there are problems with nuclear, but I'm not 100% opposed to it. There are problems with wind power, too (have you heard the concerns about bats and wind towers?) and solar and pretty much everything. We have to choose our compromises sometimes...
And Stephanie, I agree with you about prices reflecting the true cost of energy, although it's a perfect example of choosing our compromise. High energy costs would punish the poor most--people who really can't afford it and are already struggling. Have you read Capitalism 3.0? It proposes some good solutions for putting a price tag on environmental degradation.
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