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Clean Coal Technology - Fact or Fiction?

Clean Coal Technology - Fact or Fiction?

  • YES - It exists today and can be a viable new energy source

    Votes: 1 12.5%

  • NO - Clean Coal Technology Is Fiction

    Votes: 4 50.0%

  • MAYBE - Please explain

    Votes: 3 37.5%
  • Total voters
    8
Family Guy

Family Guy

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Throughout this year and especially in the Presidential election candidates from both parties shouted out their support for "CLEAN COAL TECHNOLOGY" making sure that everyone heard their approval.

The problem is that in fact, scientific fact "CLEAN COAL TECHNOLOGY" does not exist...or does it? What is your opinion?

But here's the problem.

"There is no such thing as clean coal," says James Hansen, NASA's expert on global warming, who says all coal plants, even TECO's, still emit millions of tons of carbon dioxide - the most threatening greenhouse gas.

"There is no coal plant that captures the carbon dioxide and that's the major long-term pollutant," says Hansen.
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Clean Coal - Pipe Dream Or Next Big Thing?, Coal Industry Launches Ad Campaign To Support Energy Alternative, But Some Say Technology Hasn't Caught Up Yet - CBS News
 
Family Guy said:
Throughout this year and especially in the Presidential election candidates from both parties shouted out their support for "CLEAN COAL TECHNOLOGY" making sure that everyone heard their approval.

The problem is that in fact, scientific fact "CLEAN COAL TECHNOLOGY" does not exist...or does it? What is your opinion?


Clean Coal - Pipe Dream Or Next Big Thing?, Coal Industry Launches Ad Campaign To Support Energy Alternative, But Some Say Technology Hasn't Caught Up Yet - CBS News
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the term "clean coal" is subjective. yet, it must be noted, so is every energy source with the name "clean" attached to it. What people really mean by the term "clean coal" is that it is cleaner than it used to be. I know, I know, "People should say what they mean", but still, that is the general idea behind it.

With all the new available technology of extracting coal, it is a fact that we can easily get the coal we need without harming the enviroment too much, and if the government would allow the market to work in this field, I have no doubt that the competition would allow for faster-discovery of technology to hopefully, make it truly "clean".
 
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UtahBill said:
Think Progress Tennessee coal sludge disaster ?shows that the term clean coal is an oxymoron.’
t r u t h o u t | Massive TVA Coal Sludge Spill Devastates Tennessee

Coal sucks....it is dirty and dangerous from mining to disposal of the ash...
They should be retired as soon as nuclear can take over...
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Strongly disagree.
True , very true that coal is not "clean".
So nuclear and oil are clean ??
Not even solar and wind are "totally clean".
And, given sufficient technology, coal can be as clean as anything else; but if we get "carried away" (a problem), the cost may be too great..
And despite what the Greenies tell you, "clean" is NOT everything.
 
UtahBill said:
Think Progress Tennessee coal sludge disaster ?shows that the term clean coal is an oxymoron.’
t r u t h o u t | Massive TVA Coal Sludge Spill Devastates Tennessee

Coal sucks....it is dirty and dangerous from mining to disposal of the ash...
They should be retired as soon as nuclear can take over...
Click to expand...
Was that disastor due to the normal operations, or was it due to someone being an idiot with the fusalage? because I have a real hard time believing that accidents are any excuse to cower from potential progress.
 
earthworm said:
Strongly disagree.
True , very true that coal is not "clean".
So nuclear and oil are clean ??
Not even solar and wind are "totally clean".
And, given sufficient technology, coal can be as clean as anything else; but if we get "carried away" (a problem), the cost may be too great..
And despite what the Greenies tell you, "clean" is NOT everything.
Click to expand...

I have worked in the nuclear industry a long time...it is the only substantial source of energy that can be considered anywhere near "clean".
Wind and solar will continue to cost too much, and be unreliable, for the next 50 years at least...unless we learn to only use power when the sun shines or the wind blows.
Look at the northeast and the midwest right now, how will wind or solar do them any good?

I know that nothing is totally clean, but that is no reason to avoid going for the cleanest, which is nuclear.
There is no technology in existence, or even on the horizon, that will make coal anywhere near clean.
 
DarkWizard12 said:
Was that disastor due to the normal operations, or was it due to someone being an idiot with the fusalage? because I have a real hard time believing that accidents are any excuse to cower from potential progress.
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what is fusalage? most likely the retention pond was poorly built.
Accidents happen at coal plants far more often than nuclear, but one at a nuke plant that has nothing to do with the nuclear part of it gets a lot more press than deaths at a coal plant.
What progress, or technology discoveries, are you looking for here? Do you think that throwing money at coal will make it clean? Not likely to happen. Progress cannot be legislated into existence, discoveries cannot be forced.
 
Sweden is so far as I am aware the only Coal Producing Nation that takes extreme care in production to minimize pollution.
However once that product is used it must inevitably cause some pollution.
The US cannot or simply will not produce Coal using the same production methods.
The current Advertizing suggesting 'Clean Coal' is quite blatantly incorrect.
To advertize something that may come about in some distant future, is so dishonest.
Having got that particular gripe off my chest, it is difficult to see how the US will be able to produce enough energy from any other source at the same cost.
 
UtahBill said:
what is fusalage?
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inside joke.
most likely the retention pond was poorly built.
Accidents happen at coal plants far more often than nuclear, but one at a nuke plant that has nothing to do with the nuclear part of it gets a lot more press than deaths at a coal plant.
Click to expand...
I will agree with this statement, however, that wasn't my premise. Accidents happen all the time in various energy facilities, what makes this one stand out?
What progress, or technology discoveries, are you looking for here? Do you think that throwing money at coal will make it clean? Not likely to happen. Progress cannot be legislated into existence, discoveries cannot be forced.
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Translation: Everything worth discovering has already been discovered. :roll:

and no, the government shouldn't throw money at it. I'm talking about letting private enterprises chase various and better tehnologies. It happened during the industrial revolution with the cotton gin, lets do it again!
 
DarkWizard12 said:
inside joke.

I will agree with this statement, however, that wasn't my premise. Accidents happen all the time in various energy facilities, what makes this one stand out?

Translation: Everything worth discovering has already been discovered. :roll:

and no, the government shouldn't throw money at it. I'm talking about letting private enterprises chase various and better tehnologies. It happened during the industrial revolution with the cotton gin, lets do it again!
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I don't need a person who is likely uneducated in physics, chemistry, and/or energy related technologies to translate for me....
Saying "let's do it again" won't speed up discoveries one bit. Lots of people are doing the appropriate research, success will happen when it happens...
 
UtahBill said:
I don't need a person who is likely uneducated in physics, chemistry, and/or energy related technologies to translate for me....
Saying "let's do it again" won't speed up discoveries one bit. Lots of people are doing the appropriate research, success will happen when it happens...
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I'm not saying to merely "do it again". I'm saying, let private enterprise do what it does best.
 
DarkWizard12 said:
I'm not saying to merely "do it again". I'm saying, let private enterprise do what it does best.
Click to expand...

Many are trying, there is surely a nobel prize or 2 for whoever comes up with answers...
 
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