Clean coal is an oxymoron. No kidding.
A great editorial this morning in Vermont's Roanoke Times on the idea of investing millions in clean coal technology and carbon capture and storage, when more affordable and proven renewable technologies are already further along in development and will be the answer to America's energy woes in the long term.
The editorial rightly concludes that:
There is a lot of skepticism of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology out there, but now even the industry is admitting that the technology is far from ready. E&ENews reporter Kathering Ling recently wrote on the annual meeting for Edison Electric Institute (EEI). David Ratcliffe, CEO Southern Company was quoted saying the following:
Yesterday’s announcement by New York City Comptroller William E. Thompson Jr requesting a review of the financial and environmental risks associated with the use of tax-exempt financing for the construction of new coal-fired power plants is the latest in a string of what I would call ‘learning moments’ for the financial sector.
Don Blankenship’s empire is crumbling, rapidly. Mountaintop removal coal mining may well be on it’s way out. The money’s drying up. Appalachia is rising in Washington D.C. And we’re seeing some VERY interesting developments on Wall Street and in Washington.
