Clean Coal and Its Potential

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Clean Coal and Its Potential

With the United States' increasing addiction for petroleum and imported energy, many organizations have begun to pressure government agencies to consider cleaner methods for fuel. As evident from recent government spending, the current administration favors the generation of electricity through a fossil fuel abundant in the United States; coal. Though coal is widely seen as a cheap source of energy, it contains many drawbacks: it’s emissions. Clean coal alternatives are available and they appear to have a promising future in the world of non-renewable energy.

Coal, when used in the traditional manner, is the dirtiest fossil fuel on the planet. The combustion of coal releases a combination of harmful emissions into the surrounding atmosphere. These include but are not limited to NOx, SO2, CO2, and trace amounts of mercury (Rinstinen). Effects of these emissions are seen in the accumulation of low-level ozone, global warming, and acid rain. Despite these devastating affects coal remains the largest single producer of energy in the US (Schobert). With so many coal burning plants already in operation, and the obvious benefits of coal’s energy potential, scientists have set out to harness coal’s good properties while at the same time protect the earth from it’s devastating short-comings.

The answer to the current debate over coal’s future seems to lie in the idealist potential of Clean Coal. It’s potential is so great that President Bush has poured millions of dollars into the Federal Budget to stimulate Clean Coal development and initiatives. Currently, countless plants from the 1950’s and 1960’s have become decommissioned or are in need of replacements; the need to reinv...

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...the non-renewable energies require too many additional processes to be considered a sustainable fuel for the future.

Works Cited

"Clean Coal Technology: How It Works." BBC News. 28 Nov. 2005. bbc.co.uk. 14 Feb. 2007 .

"Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle." Cogeneration. 8 Jan. 2004. CogenerationTechnologies. 14 Feb. 2007

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"Prospects For CO2 Capture and Storage (CCS) – Fact Sheet." Iea.Org. 15 Feb. 2006. International Energy Agency. 14 Feb. 2007 .

Ristinen, Robert A., and Jack J. Kraushaar. Energy and the Environment. New York & London: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1999.

Schobert, Harold H. Energy and Society. New York & London: Taylor and Francis, 2002.

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