This article over at sustainablog was a welcome infusion of hope. After hearing President Obama speak of "clean coal" in the recent state of the union, I was feeling pretty depressed. I know we face a huge problem finding ways to produce energy as we deplete the current resources of planet Earth at breakneck speed. Coal is one of the worst means of producing energy and is used to produce 50% of all the electricity in our country. I think about the poor humans living in the 2nd most diverse forest on the planet whose lives are being destroyed at this very moment by greedy corporatists who are willing to blow the tops off of these beautiful mountain forests to get their hands on the coal seams below. It's heartbreaking. That alone should be enough to get us to reevaluate our energy use and move to the new way we will need to live so our descendents have the slightest chance for a future. We are squandering the resources our children and grandchildren will desperately need.
Coal-Fired Power On the Way Out?
by Earth Policy Institute on February 25, 2010The past two years have witnessed the emergence of a powerful movement opposing the construction of new coal-fired power plants in the United States. Initially led by environmental groups, both national and local, it has since been joined by prominent national political leaders and many state governors. The principal reason for opposing coal plants is that they are changing the earth’s climate. There is also the effect of mercury emissions on health and the 23,600 U.S. deaths each year from power plant air pollution.
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