Watching The Daily Show last night, I was just about to exercise the most satisfying part of having a TiVo (fast forwarding through commercials) when an ad began to play, mocking the elusive technology of “clean coal.” In the ad itself, our hero in the commercial promises to take us on a tour of a state-of-the-art clean coal facility, only to open a door to a barren landscape. Watch it:
The ad comes from a project called This Is Reality, which is made up of a coalition of environmental groups including, the Alliance for Climate Protection, Sierra Club, National Wildlife Federation, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the League of Conservation Voters. The project’s goal is to counteract the aggressive PR push from the coal industry touting the benefits of clean coal.
The South Routt School District will be spending the next few months replacing it’s old coal-fired boiler with a biomass boiler that will use wood pellets for fuel instead. A significant portion of the pellets will come from the new Confluence Energy facility that is just about ready to open its doors in Kremmling, Colorado.
The project was financed The Governor’s Energy Office and a state bond program. McKinstry, an energy-oriented consulting and contracting firm based in the Seattle area, also is contributing free services for the boiler, which Reed said will be “cost-neutral” for South Routt schools. The change is part of a $4.1 million project to improve energy efficiency in schools and buildings, and could save the district $10,000 a year. See Also: “Should We Pursue Biofuels From Beetle-Killed Wood?” :: CleanTechnica (2/2008) “Jamtland: A County Fueled by Biomass” (Video) :: ecopolitology (3/2008) Steamboat Pilot (4/2008)
In my 3.19.08 post at Red, Green, and Blue, I reported that Dine Power Authority and Sithe Global Power sued the US Environmental Protection Agency for dragging its feet on the air permit for a proposed coal-fired power plant on Navajo land in New Mexico. The group filed for a permit in 2004 and is still awaiting a final decision.
Now, opponents of the proposed coal-fired power plant have joined the legal fray by suing the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, according to a report in News From Indian Country. Dine Citizens Against Ruining our Environment and the San Juan Citizens Alliance claim federal agents have violated open records laws by withholding information related to the controversial plant and a coal mine that would supply it.
Among the groups’ requests are records on a consultant’s work on the draft environmental impact statement for the Desert Rock project, water use for the project and how the expansion of BHP Billiton’s Navajo Mine would affect tribal members who live and graze livestock in the area.
The New Mexico Environment Department and others have criticized the draft permit for not including enforceable conditions to address adverse visibility and for not analyzing mercury or carbon dioxide emissions. Others have complained that a better understanding of existing air quality conditions in the Four Corners region is needed before acceptable standards can be set for Desert Rock.
This short pbs video highlights California’s relatively progressive environmental policy and juxtaposes it with our (lack of) federal policy. The well-produced piece also does a good job of linking our drive for material wealth as a contributor to environmental pollution in China. About 4 minutes.
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