| The Liquid Coal Battle Rages |
| Written by Hank Green | ||
| Monday, 19 November 2007 | ||
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And the worst new energy technology in the world is undeniably liquid coal. Some people (mostly people who own coal mines) want to replace 100% of America's gasoline usage with a fuel that comes from coal. It produces two times more CO2, consumes three times more water than gasoline, and gives us more incentive to tear down our mountain ranges. Even better, it's not currently economically viable, so coal companies are trying to get Congress to subsidize these billion-dollar coal to liquid plants. Luckily the NRDC and the Union of Concerned Scientists are on our side. The NRDC has created a great (and frighteningly accurate) animation to spread the word, while the UoCS has released a report on the dangers of the technology. The best thing we can do is get educated. Coal is the fuel of the past, not the future...if Congress is going to subsidize anything, it ought to be, at the very least, clean. You can Take Action at NRDC.org
Comments
(7)
agree... kindda
written by James , November 19, 2007
Coal to electricity?
written by Rob , November 19, 2007
Coal is still dirty, but wouldn't it be more efficient to burn it to produce electricity and run cars off that?
Coat to gasoline is not new technology
written by Mike , November 19, 2007
Coal to liquid fuels (CTL) has been around for a long time and isn't really new. CTL was done in large scale by the Nazi regime in WWII and also under Apartheid in South Africa. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F...ch_process
if Congress approves that they're insane
written by zupakomputer , November 20, 2007
Yeah but the Nazis had technology like the Haunebu and the Vril craft (now the property of the US govt.), cause that kinda thing isn't new either.
learn from history
written by celainea , November 20, 2007
Yes liquid coal has been around for a long time. Yes our electric plants and vehicles can use it, so we are not depended on oil rich Arab countries. Yes the Nazis produced many technological advances, but Northern Germany is still recovering from their extensive coal use. The reason we don't learn from history is because we want to filter it through rose colored glasses. The streets and buildings of London, Paris, and Berlin once were smeared with the effects of industrial coal plants. Do you want to live in a world covered with soot? We can find the answers to our power problems through green technology. Support green!!
We thrive from death
written by Kat , November 20, 2007
So now instead of burning oil, which is made of deceased plankton, we are burning coal, which is made of deceased plants that are not necessarily plankton…I see a trend here. Is there any chance that the United States, or perhaps the world, could benefit from a product that was not initially made from some other life form that bit the dust? (I.e. whale oil, fur coats, the land and natural resources originally held by the Native Americans.)
Liquid Coal is Necessary and can be clea
written by obewan , November 21, 2007
Liquid coal made with carbon sequestration would be as clean or cleaner than conventional oil/gas/diesel. Carbon sequestration has been proven at Kinder Morgan in Texas where over 1 billion cu-ft of co2 is captured daily and pumped underground for storage forever. Water can be recycled, and moutain tops can be redeveloped into lakes and forrest land. I have seen pictures of redeveloped coal mines, so I am not convinced it destroys as much as claimed. We only have 35-50 years left on conventioal oil anyway, and need to be open to all sources of energy if we expect human life to continue on this planet. The global warming crisis 100 years out will be a non issue in 50 years when the world runs out of oil and starves to death.
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Technology is generally about letting our species be more effective and efficient, which is why it has become such an overwhelming force for green. But sometimes, technology is bad...even an EcoGeek must recognize it.
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Keep up the good articles. I am a lurker.