Comments on: “Clean” coal coming to MA? http://itsgettinghotinhere.org/2007/03/20/clean-coal-coming-to-ma/ Dispatches from the Youth Climate Movement Fri, 09 Jan 2009 20:53:27 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=MU hourly 1 By: Jennie H. http://itsgettinghotinhere.org/2007/03/20/clean-coal-coming-to-ma/#comment-53363 Jennie H. Sat, 22 Sep 2007 03:22:28 +0000 http://itsgettinghotinhere.wordpress.com/2007/03/20/clean-coal-coming-to-ma/#comment-53363 While I have many responses to Mr. Perlman's remarks, I will just leave one that has left me particularly incensed. It is unbelievable to me that Mr. Perlman can compare strip malls to coal mining. While I agree that strip malls are a particularly poor use of land, when is the last time that a wall-mart collapsed and killed 9 people? Not to mention that certain types of mining, such as mountain top removal, are enormously disruptive to the surrounding environment. I highly doubt that the scale of mountain destruction that occurs today would continue for the purpose of putting in a dollar store. While I have many responses to Mr. Perlman’s remarks, I will just leave one that has left me particularly incensed.
It is unbelievable to me that Mr. Perlman can compare strip malls to coal mining. While I agree that strip malls are a particularly poor use of land, when is the last time that a wall-mart collapsed and killed 9 people? Not to mention that certain types of mining, such as mountain top removal, are enormously disruptive to the surrounding environment. I highly doubt that the scale of mountain destruction that occurs today would continue for the purpose of putting in a dollar store.

]]> By: Andrew Perlman http://itsgettinghotinhere.org/2007/03/20/clean-coal-coming-to-ma/#comment-45401 Andrew Perlman Wed, 04 Apr 2007 04:19:52 +0000 http://itsgettinghotinhere.wordpress.com/2007/03/20/clean-coal-coming-to-ma/#comment-45401 I recenly came across your website, and as President of GreatPoint Energy, I have a few comments on your thoughts. Coal combustion is the cause of over 35% of all greenhouse gas emissions and is a key contributor to acid rain, particulate emissions, and mercury build-up in our fish. Despite this fact, nearly a hundred new coal burning power plants are proposed in the U.S. and one new 500 MW equivalent plant goes up in China every week. We need to support renewable energy sources, but even if we plaster the country with wind farms and solar arrays and become far more efficient, we are not going to even come close to replacing conventional power generation for many years, if ever. So if we are serious about fixing the global warming problem and as well as cleaning up the air we breath, we need to find a way to clean up coal. At GreatPoint we actually convert coal ino pipeline grade natural gas, meaning we remove all the sulfur, mercury, heavy metals, and yes even most of the carbon (as natural gas is mostly hydrogen). Natural gas is the cleanest commercial fuel in use today - so clean we burn it in our homes without a vent. As part of our technology, all of the pollutants in the coal are captured (prior to combustion as we do not burn coal) and then sold to the chemicals industry or rendered harmless and disposed of properly. The air emissions from our gas is exactly the same as that from natural gas, and unlike coal to oil technology, called fischer-tropsch, our plants are completely clean and non-polluting. I encourage you to delve more deeply into the technology because I believe that converting the dirtiest commercial fuel into the cleanest is the single biggest way to make a positive impact on the environment. I have personally spent time with the Conservation Law Foundation and the Clean Air Task Force and others to include everyone's input and suggestions into strategy, technology, and plans. One more note, while coal mining has a lot of problems, the strip malls and Wal-Marts that get built on the land after the mines close and the land is sold to developers is not much better, and in my mind potentially much worse. It would be a good idea to take a page out of the compromises reached by environmental groups with the paper companies in Maine to preserve forests, and implement sensitive logging practices, rather than let the land be sold to developes where it is destroyed forever and we all lose. I truly hope that GreatPoint can make a positive imact on our environment, starting first by converting and cleaning up the dirty fossil fuel plants that we already have in our state. I recenly came across your website, and as President of GreatPoint Energy, I have a few comments on your thoughts. Coal combustion is the cause of over 35% of all greenhouse gas emissions and is a key contributor to acid rain, particulate emissions, and mercury build-up in our fish. Despite this fact, nearly a hundred new coal burning power plants are proposed in the U.S. and one new 500 MW equivalent plant goes up in China every week. We need to support renewable energy sources, but even if we plaster the country with wind farms and solar arrays and become far more efficient, we are not going to even come close to replacing conventional power generation for many years, if ever. So if we are serious about fixing the global warming problem and as well as cleaning up the air we breath, we need to find a way to clean up coal. At GreatPoint we actually convert coal ino pipeline grade natural gas, meaning we remove all the sulfur, mercury, heavy metals, and yes even most of the carbon (as natural gas is mostly hydrogen). Natural gas is the cleanest commercial fuel in use today - so clean we burn it in our homes without a vent. As part of our technology, all of the pollutants in the coal are captured (prior to combustion as we do not burn coal) and then sold to the chemicals industry or rendered harmless and disposed of properly. The air emissions from our gas is exactly the same as that from natural gas, and unlike coal to oil technology, called fischer-tropsch, our plants are completely clean and non-polluting. I encourage you to delve more deeply into the technology because I believe that converting the dirtiest commercial fuel into the cleanest is the single biggest way to make a positive impact on the environment. I have personally spent time with the Conservation Law Foundation and the Clean Air Task Force and others to include everyone’s input and suggestions into strategy, technology, and plans. One more note, while coal mining has a lot of problems, the strip malls and Wal-Marts that get built on the land after the mines close and the land is sold to developers is not much better, and in my mind potentially much worse. It would be a good idea to take a page out of the compromises reached by environmental groups with the paper companies in Maine to preserve forests, and implement sensitive logging practices, rather than let the land be sold to developes where it is destroyed forever and we all lose.

I truly hope that GreatPoint can make a positive imact on our environment, starting first by converting and cleaning up the dirty fossil fuel plants that we already have in our state.

]]> By: Matt Reitman http://itsgettinghotinhere.org/2007/03/20/clean-coal-coming-to-ma/#comment-45403 Matt Reitman Wed, 21 Mar 2007 15:48:22 +0000 http://itsgettinghotinhere.wordpress.com/2007/03/20/clean-coal-coming-to-ma/#comment-45403 Yeah this isn't great news. We have been working several years with a group in PA fighting a coal-to-oil refinery, but coal to natural gas is a new one to me. Our coal-to-oil page, <a href="http://www.ultradirtyfuels.com" rel="nofollow">Ultra Dirty Fuels</a> has good info about that process and the fight against the plant in Mahanoy Township. We'll be watching this one too. Yeah this isn’t great news. We have been working several years with a group in PA fighting a coal-to-oil refinery, but coal to natural gas is a new one to me. Our coal-to-oil page, Ultra Dirty Fuels has good info about that process and the fight against the plant in Mahanoy Township.

We’ll be watching this one too.

]]> By: John Dallas http://itsgettinghotinhere.org/2007/03/20/clean-coal-coming-to-ma/#comment-45402 John Dallas Tue, 20 Mar 2007 15:03:06 +0000 http://itsgettinghotinhere.wordpress.com/2007/03/20/clean-coal-coming-to-ma/#comment-45402 I hope you can make your governor understand that "Clean Coal" is an oxymoron. Make him understand the harmful consequences of using coal, and that conservation is another part of the equation. The only logical solution to our nation's energy crisis is energy from renewable resources. I hope you can make your governor understand that “Clean Coal” is an oxymoron. Make him understand the harmful consequences of using coal, and that conservation is another part of the equation. The only logical solution to our nation’s energy crisis is energy from renewable resources.

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