Correspondent of the Day: Can a Businessman Know Earth Systems?
Can a Businessman Know Earth Systems?
Editor, Times-Dispatch: Regarding the news story, "Electric Co-op Leader 'Sees Through the Glass Clearly'": Jack Reasor doesn't see through the glass clearly about the overstressed Earth systems that support his many activities. Note his education: bachelor of arts, law degree. And his experience: law firms, banking, electric supplier.
How could we expect someone with no science education or background to fully grasp the potential catastrophe of climate change, or coal pollution's effects on public health and ecosystems like the Blackwater River and Chesapeake Bay?
Nor does Reasor see clearly the other options to building a new coal plant.
Progressive energy suppliers all over the world are focusing on the transition to renewable energy and efficiency, not on new, expensive coal plants. The studies are in; the way is charted. Other power suppliers can thrive and please their customers without coal. So can Old Dominion Electric Cooperative.
While at Jefferson Labs in Newport News recently, Energy Secretary Steven Chu stated that upgrading existing plants could be more cost-effective than building new ones, and that clean energy is key to prosperity. Reasor should take that lead and focus his time finding ways to provide Virginia with clean energy now.
Terri Cuthriell.
Smithfield.
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“Progressive energy suppliers are foscusing on the transition to renewable energy and effeciency, not on expensive coal plants.“
New York Times-4/2008
Italy’s major electricity producer, Enel,is converting its massive power plant here from oil to coal.
Over the next five years, Italy will increase its reliance on coal 33 percent from 14 percent.“
The article goes on to say-
“And Italy is not alone in its return to coal. European countries are expected to put into operation about 50 coal-fired plants over the next five years, plants that will be in use for the next five decades.“
The United Kingdom and Czech Republic
are included in the mix.
Even Germany, the poster nation for “green” energy has a new coal plant in the works.
Spain is a disaster. The poster country for unintended consequences of too much green too soon.
They are all touting “clean coal.“ The techonology for which has yet to be devised.
The so called “sequestration of CO2” consists of digging enormous bunkers adjacent to the new plants and literally “burying” the CO2, a la nuclear waste-forever.
The experts admittedly have no idea how the tracer gas is going to behave over millenia of entombment.
The Wall Street Journal 9/2009
“China’s ambition to create “green cities” powered by huge wind farms comes with a dirty little secret. Dozens of NEW coal-fired plants need to be installed as well.“
New York Times 4/2008
India’s Tata Power group just gained important financial backing from the IMF a branch of the World Bank, for its planned $4-billion watt “ltra mega” coal-burning plant complex in Gujarat.“
This decision powerfully illustrates one of the most inconvenient facets of the world’s intertwined climate and energy challenges-that more than two billion people still lack any viable energy choices, let alone green ones,“
There are wonderful advances being made all over the world. What we need to try to avoid are the devestating unintended consequences that come too often from diving into not ready for prime time technologies because the ban coal and oil yesterday crowd are howling for something to be done “now.“
And frankly Steven Chu is just a scary guy.
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