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Cleaner Coal

Coal has long been a dirty word among those concerned about global warming. But now there’s new technology that allows coal-fired power plants to trap emissions and eliminate pollution – before they produce energy.

This process is called “integrated gasification combined cycle,” or IGCC, and there are so far only four plants in the entire world that use it, including two in the United States (one in Indiana and one in Florida). But dozens more are being built across the country, often with a financial boost from the federal government.

The plants convert coal into synthetic gas, removing most pollutants before the fuel is burned. They emit just a small fraction of the mercury, sulfur dioxide and other pollutants that come from traditional coal-fired power plants. And while they cost about 10 percent more to build than “pulverized” coal plants, they also produce about 10 percent more energy. One plant under construction in Orlando, Florida, is expected to produce enough power to support 285,000 homes, once it becomes operational in 2010.

The new technology is gaining in popularity as pressure to find alternative, cleaner sources of power builds. Emissions from coal-fired power plants are one of the biggest contributors to global warming, which has been linked to global health issues such as malaria and other insect-borne diseases. One study, recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, attributes a half-degree (Celsius) rise in temperature in the East African highlands to a doubling of the number of malaria-carrying mosquitoes in that region.

Global warming has been accelerating in recent decades and is now causing the polar ice caps to melt at a much faster rate than previously projected. Scientists agree that emissions must be reduced within the next decade or the warming cycle will begin to cause irreversible consequences.

The cleaner plants could provide a major avenue for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. For more information on global warming and some simple steps that individuals can take to reduce emissions, go to www.fightglobalwarming.com or www.environmentaldefense.org or www.net.org.

To learn more about IGCC go to www.clean-energy.us/facts/igcc.htm or www.thesouthern.com/articles/2006/03/19/business/10005680.txt.

To read more about this and other environmental health issues, go to

www.EnvironmentalHealthNews.org

www.OurStolenFuture.org or

www.HealthAndEnvironment.org