Mar 25, 2011

Protecting Coal, Really?

It might be time to get our energy from sources other than burning stuff.

I keep reading pro-pollution articles that never mention the worst parts of coal:
Miner safety (354 miners died in 2009), toxic coal ash dumps that leak, mercury poisoning of people hundreds of miles away from electric plants.

Mercury's harmful effects include brain damage, mental retardation, incoordination, blindness, seizures, and inability to speak. Children poisoned by mercury may develop problems of their nervous and digestive systems, and kidney damage.

The new EPA standards are minimal. They are the same standards that 16 states have already made law on their own. It's time to stop subsidizing coal.  All coal costs should be factored in the price.

http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/news-and-blogs/campaign-blog/coal-lobby-loves-mercury/blog/33804
http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/energy/coal-oil-gas/3-coal-mining-safety-problems-and-how-to-fix-them

It's time to switch to cleaner energies. With every penny that the price of electricity goes up from keeping coal honest, so does the number of green jobs.

No comments: