By tylersclark

April 25, 2008

Looking to do something good for Mother Nature this Earth Day or any day? Let your Congressperson know you're opposed to building new coal-based power plants. The more than 50 percent of the electricity the United States derives from coal is responsible for over 83 percent of the power sector's global-warming pollution, according to a report this month from the EPA. In fact, for the last thirty years coal-fired electrical generation has been at the top of the chart as the leading single source of pollution in the U.S. and the world. And things are only getting worse.

Coal's relative affordability assures its selection in developing countries as the power source of choice for newly built plants. Even in the U.S., over 150 new coal power plants have been built in the past several years. Europe will see about 50 new ones in the next five years. Meanwhile, "China is completing two new coal plants per week." 

It will be a huge task to wean ourselves away from the fossil fuel-based energy sources we've taken for granted for so long, but we must begin to make the tough calls. Ironically, the rising price of oil will make alternative energy sources relatively more affordable. Wind turbines and solar thermal systems, when combined with existing coal-based power sources, will increase their longevity and help prevent more from being needed.

Make sure your Congressperson knows that you want to see increased funding for alternative energy development and that you expect any new plants that must be built are outfitted with Carbon Capture and Storage [or Sequestration] (CCS) systems. Read more about CCS here, what an MIT panel calls "the critical enabling technology to help reduce CO2 emissions significantly while also allowing coal to meet the world's pressing energy needs."