Let’s Get This Straight: There’s No Such Thing as ‘Clean Coal’

During the Vice Presidential debate last Thursday night, the candidate’s responses to energy and environment issues were fairly predictable: Sarah Palin offered canned, cliché-ridden talking points about nuclear power and offshore drilling, and once again stated that she won’t fully attribute global warming to man.  Joe Biden emphasized that global warming is man-made, and pointed out that “if you don’t understand what the cause is, it’s virtually impossible to come up with a solution”.

While we at EarthFirst believe strongly that the Obama/Biden ticket is the only ticket that will properly protect the environment and address global warming in a meaningful way, let’s be clear on one thing: we cringe every time Obama and Biden utter the words ‘clean coal’.  Here’s why: there’s no such thing.

‘Clean coal’ is a myth perpetuated by – hadn’t you guessed already? – the coal industry.  It’s a contradiction in terms; an oxymoron.  The term isn’t just misleading.  It promotes a perception of this polluting, health-endangering, ecosystem-destroying technology that exists only in Imaginationland.

The talk of ‘clean coal’ really centers on attempts to make coal ‘less dirty’.  At least, marginally less dirty.  It relates to the idea of separating CO2 from the coal-burning process and burying it in liquid form, so it won’t end up in the atmosphere contributing to global warming.  The process is called ‘carbon capture and sequestration’, and it’s still decades away from commercial viability.  Like nuclear power, there are many safety issues involved, like the question of whether stored CO2 could cause leaks or earthquakes.  Plus, capturing and sequestering carbon takes a hell of a lot of energy – doesn’t that sort of negate the whole point?

Attempts to clean up the coal industry aren’t just arduous, they’re incredibly expensive.  And, that money could be going toward truly clean energy technology instead.  The fact is, we need to move away from polluting, environment-destroying energy sources like coal and oil, and we need to do it now.  We need a green energy revolution, which will provide millions of green-collar jobs that can lift these hacking, coal-stained miners out from under the ground and give them a healthier way to provide for their families.

That said, Obama/Biden is still by far a better bet for anyone who cares about the environment in any capacity.  Check back with us on Monday morning, when we’ll be delving into all of the ways a McCain presidency would be a complete disaster for the environment.

Wondering what’s so dirty about coal in the first place? Check out our previous posts, ‘Coal is Clean! Get the Real Facts About the Coal Industry’ and ‘Morgan Spurlock Hits the West Virginia Coal Mines for 30 Days’.

Photo credit: Coal-is-Dirty.com

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