Does clean coal exist?
American Electric Power CEO Michael Morris
Generating power from burning coal is a nasty, greenhouse-gas-spewing, mountain-eroding process. It also provides about half the electricity in the U.S. and 70% in the rest of the world. Hence the hunt for "clean" coal, an expression that provokes waves of controversy.
Making coal clean involves capturing and then storing underground the carbon dioxide emitted by coal-fired plants. Michael Morris, CEO of American Electric Power, spoke about a pilot plant AEP is building in West Virginia that will store CO2. Not so fast. Mike Brune, executive director of the Rainforest Action Network, countered that we've got to do away with coal. Period. Anything short of abolition guarantees a fouled environment, dead coral reefs, and a nonexistent polar ice cap.
In the middle of the debate stood David Hawkins of the Natural Resources Defense Council, who argued that allowing the industry to embrace cleaner coal tech is the only way politically to achieve meaningful climate change legislation.
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