The Reality Blog

Coal’s “Clean” Conscience

The American Coalition of Clean Coal Technologies (ACCCE) spokesman — the same one who said “I don’t know” if burning coal contributes to global warming — put up an interesting op-ed last week.

It’s interesting because it makes clear the coal industry’s position — they aren’t willing to reduce their profits by taking real action on CO₂ reduction, and they aren’t too concerned about the high external costs of burning coal (in health care treatment, pollution, and global catastrophe) because they don’t directly pay these costs — we do.

ACCCE argues that “shifting the primary burden for reductions to coal-generated power clearly will drive up the costs and put a further dent into the wallets of families and business owners.” But that’s not true. It will drive up the costs to the coal industry, but it won’t be more expensive for consumers unless the industry passes on all of the costs by refusing to take a bite out of their $57 billion a year profit.

Furthermore, coal is responsible for more than 80% of the CO₂ that is released by producing electricity. No energy producer pollutes with CO₂ like coal. So there’s no “shifting” here — it’s ALREADY the coal industry’s burden, they’re just not accepting responsibility.

What do you think will be more costly to America’s families and business owners?

• A gradual reduction in burning coal, as we move to abundant, free and clean sources of energy and upgrade our buildings and appliances to use less energy.

• Increasing our present rate of burning coal: continuing to depend on an uncertain priced fossil fuel that releases the deadly poisons which, according to a 2004 study cited by the American Lung Association, are responsible for an estimated 24,000 premature deaths, 550,000 asthma attacks, 38,000 heart attacks and 12,000 other hospital admissions per year.

  And continuing to release the CO₂ that is heading us toward a collision with, as Time Magazine recently called it, the “asteroid” of global warming — which without action now “will be far worse — and last far longer — than any natural disaster humanity has ever known.”

ACCCE has told us their answer. What’s yours? If you’d like to comment on this article, you can quickly sign up for an account on the Tribune-Democrat’s discussion feature. Of course, you are always free to leave a comment at ACCCE’s blog, too.

Instead of more industry ads and op-ed articles about “clean” coal to make it seem like they are accepting responsibility, the coal industry needs to step up and do something real to solve this very real problem they have helped to create — without making threats to pass on all costs to the consumer.

The Dirt on “clean”
part 1: Dude, where’s your CO₂?

This is the first in a series of posts taking a closer look at the coal industry’s wildly misleading claims of cleanliness.

We all know coal is dirty. Burning coal is the dirtiest way we produce electricity and is responsible for one third of the CO₂ we release into the atmosphere.

Merriam-Webster’s first definition of “clean” is “free from dirt or pollution.” Coal is anything but, so how does the coal industry justify making the claim that coal is clean? What type of fuzzy math do they use to avoid stepping in a big pile of Reality? Very selective accounting, glaring omissions and above all — a low regard for the truth and our future.

First let’s take a look at their big claim to success: That they are “77% cleaner” since 1970.

What’s the reality?
There’s one huge problem with the 77% figure. The coal industry has decided to conveniently leave out carbon dioxide.

CO₂ is a leading cause of global warming and the climate crisis. What’s more, CO₂ emissions from coal have actually been increasing — about 25% since 1990. Today, coal-fired plants in the US release more than 2.1 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide each year.

But somehow, the coal industry doesn’t include CO₂ emissions on their chart labeled “Overall Emissions.” Instead, of the many by-products and pollutants produced by burning coal, their figure only includes five government regulated pollutants — carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and particulate matter.

Each of these are very different, but the coal industry doesn’t disclose how much of each they produce. Rather, to arrive at their 77% number, they lump these very different pollutants together. What’s more, “77%” doesn’t even represent an actual reduction in all of these emissions. Instead, it’s a ratio (”regulated emissions per unit of energy produced”). So, as production has increased over the past twenty years, some of these emissions have even gone up. Of course, they don’t tell you that either.

Poor chemistry, deceptive accounting, and a glaring omission of CO₂ from their emissions data — so far, “clean coal” isn’t looking so “free from dirt or pollution.”

Your next dose of reality… the deadly poisons that the coal industry also isn’t telling you about! Stay tuned for part 2.