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Edited on Fri Dec-07-07 08:24 PM by papau
the earth can't work - period. But they all do give lip service to the idea that we can sequester carbon geologically - it was just that Obama has had his soft coal meetings with the mine owners over the the years, and that smells a bit worse. Plus his plan is not as detailed as Richardson or Clinton's as to the protections that are planned beyond the carbon cap and trade idea:
Edwards says:"Maximize the Potential of Cleaner, Safer Coal: Coal will be an important source of U.S. and global electricity for decades, but it is responsible for more than 30 percent of America's carbon dioxide emissions. Edwards will invest $1 billion a year to research ways to burn coal cleanly and recycle its carbon underground permanently. He will also strengthen mine safety laws to ensure it is mined safely. Two large power companies, TXU and American Electric Power, recently announced plans to build experimental plants to capture carbon. ".
The best energy plan out there is Bill Richardson's: "We need a suite of options to promote end use efficiency and clean alternatives. As in the transportation sector, some of these changes will employ new technologies and will develop markets for new energy sources, such as solar, wind, geothermal, carbon-clean coal, and, where it is safe and cost-effective, nuclear power. Low-carbon electricity standard -A new low-carbon electricity standard will allow fossil resources such as coal to enter the marketplace while they make steady progress toward low- and ultra-low net carbon emissions. Starting in 2010, all new electric plants will have to meet the emissions profile of a new advanced natural gas turbine (about 60% less than conventional coal generating facilities). By 2020, new plants will have to have a net carbon impact 90% below today's. Some older, less efficient conventional plants will likely be retired because they are such a big contributor to global warming (see cap and trade under Goal 3, Climate, below). The promise of ultra-low and zero-carbon energy from fossil fuels such as oil and gas or coal (converted to hydrogen-based fuels) requires efficient, affordable systems to sequester carbon geologically. Although sequestration has been implemented for decades in the form of enhanced oil recovery, the science, technology, rules, and legal regime for permanent carbon sequestration have not been perfected. Experts estimate that, even with a highly focused program, the development of a top-to-bottom sequestration program will take at least five years and significant funding. The world's atmosphere cannot long endure the addition of a major conventional coal plant every week in China, and China (including its National Academy of Sciences) recognizes that global warming will affect its people and economy as drastically as it will affect most of the world. These inherently contradictory positions can be brought together in a satisfactory new policy only with U.S. involvement and leadership"
but Hillary's is not bad: Coal plays a major role in America’s energy mix, powering fifty percent of America’s electricity generation, and we still have enormous coal reserves. At the same time, coal-fired power plants are the largest contributor to U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, and are responsible for emissions of mercury and other dangerous pollutants. Hillary understands that continuing to build new coal plants in the same way that we have in the past will make it extremely difficult to meet our climate change goals. Hillary’s plan includes many components that would alleviate the need for
additional coal plants in the coming years. For example, hr strong efficiency measures will reduce the need for new power plants. Hillary also believes that we need to take swift action to spur the development and deployment of technology and practices that will enable us to capture, store and safely sequester carbon dioxide from coal-fired power plants. To accelerate the development of this important technology, Hillary would put immediate funding towards 10 large scale carbon capture and storage projects that utilize a range of coal types, power plant types, and storage locations. She
will move quickly to develop the regulatory framework to ensure that carbon sequestration can be done safely and reliably. And she will require all new coal plants to be capable of adding capture and storage technology when it becomes commercially available. Efficiency First--Maximize Energy Efficiency to Address Coal Demand: A 2006 McKinsey Global Insight study of global energy efficiency potential found that all future energy service
demand growth in North America can be met through cost-effective energy efficiency investments, such as greener building technologies and more efficient vehicles. Recent examples prove that efficiency can dramatically reduce the need to build new power plants. Earlier this year, investors acquired TXU and scrapped plans to build 8 of 11 planned coal-fired power plants in Texas. Part of the plan to replace the 8 planned power plants was a $400 million
increase in expenditures on customer efficiency. To maximize the potential for efficiency, Hillary would direct state utility commissions to ensure that before approving an application to build a coal plant, there is an evaluation of whether the energy services provided by that plant could be met by cost-effective investments in energy efficiency.
Here is Obama's plan: Invest in low emissions coal plants -Develop and Deploy Clean Coal Technology: Coal is our nation's most abundant energy source and is a critical component of economic development in China, India and other growing economies. Obama believes that the imperative to confront climate change requires that we prevent a new wave of traditional coal facilities in the U.S. and work aggressively to transfer low-carbon coal technologies around the world. In the U.S. Senate, Obama successfully increased funding by $200 million for carbon storage in the fiscal year 2008 budget resolution. As president Obama will significantly increase the resources devoted to the commercialization and deployment of low carbon coal technologies. Implementing these technologies as soon as possible is vital to the transition to a clean energy economy and will help other nations dependent on coal reduce their emissions as well. In addition to addressing new facilities, Obama will work to ensure that existing coal facilities are retrofitted with carbon capture and sequestration technology as soon as it is commercially available. Obama will use whatever policy tools are necessary, including standards that ban new traditional coal facilities, to ensure that we move quickly to commercialize and deploy low carbon coal technology. Obama's stringent cap on carbon will also make it uneconomic to site traditional coal facilities and discourage the use of existing inefficient coal facilities.
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