A resurgence in the seeming importance not only of coal, but more specifically “clean coal” as the solution to repowering America at relatively low cost and with minimal impact on the environment is underway. A quick visit to Americaspower.org will have you believing that with this new clean coal technology, backed mainly by studies pointing to the feasibility of carbon capture and sequestration, a still contentious topic, there is absolutely no reason not to be building clean coal power plants. Further, the Obama administration has been largely on board with this move to clean coal technology as evidenced by their recent declaration of conditional support for a federal-industry partnership to build the FutureGen project in Mattoon, Ill.
While the move to repower America with clean coal does provide a more immediate solution to breaking our dependence on foreign oil, it is expected that America’s coal reserves will only last through 2100. Further, from an environmental perspective, the notion of the existence of clean coal is merely a myth. Recent discussions regarding clean coal generally focus on the end and not the means to that end. In other words, basing the discussion solely on CO2 capture and sequestration is off point. Just because technology exists to burn coal without releasing more GHGs into our atmosphere does not make coal clean or green.
A recent study published in the journal Public Health Reports points to health costs that far outweigh the economic benefits of coal mining in Appalachia. More specifically, there are roughly 11,000 more deaths every year than in other areas of the United States. Of these deaths, approximately 2,300 are the result of environmental factors exacerbated by mining such as air and water pollution. The researchers studied over 25 years of health and economic data for the Appalachia region juxtaposed with the federal government’s Value of Statistical Life (VSL). Their conclusion being that “We know that in West Virginia we have high rates of poverty and illness, and we’ve been led to believe by government and industry that the coal companies help by creating jobs. But that’s not true. Premature mortality is strongly linked to socioeconomic conditions where people live, and the evidence is that those areas of West Virginia that do not have coal do better.”
Beyond the effects on human health, coal mining has significant environmental impacts as well. Here the question becomes, with the move to clean coal, what is being done to make coal-mining practices less environmentally invasive? Unfortunately, a recent ruling from the Supreme Court gave an Alaskan mining company the go-ahead to dump waste from a gold mine into a nearby lake, a move that will not only adversely affect the water quality, but also kill all the fish in the lake. Although this dumping is in direct violation of the Clean Water Act, it has been allowed to continue due to regulatory maneuvers by the Bush Administration. Additionally, many mountaintop permits during the Bush era were fast-tracked for approval.
While the current picture looks bleak at best, it appears the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) along with the other departments that regulate clean water laws are getting serious. In doing so, they are beginning to subject mountaintop-mining permits to significantly more thorough, case-by-case reviews as well as exercising more control over state regulators. The Obama administration, though sending mixed messages, also seems to be more or less standing by their commitment to finding viable alternative energy sources and protecting the environment. In March, they blocked several mountaintop removal projects on the grounds that further review was necessary to determine the impacts of such projects. More recently, the administration announced new restrictions on mountaintop removal in six Appalachian states, but only after sending a letter to Rep. Nick Rahall II (D-W.VA) in May stating that the EPA would not stand in the way of at least 24 new mountaintop projects
So take a moment to ask yourself, “truly at what cost does clean coal come to the American people?” When will mountaintop removal mining stop? What about the health of not only the people working in the mines, but also the families living in the vicinity of those mines? What about the wildlife habitats that are being destroyed? How can we so ardently oppose drilling in ANWR because of the disruption it will cause to the natural habitats and pristine land, but not be outraged over mountaintop removal mining which is destroying plenty of pristine land and habitats much closer to home?
by Kyle Voorheis
