RFK JR BACKS NATURAL GAS

How to end America’s deadly coal addiction
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
July 19, 2009 (UK Financial Times)

"Converting rapidly from coal-generated energy to gas is President Barack Obama’s most obvious first step towards saving our planet and jump-starting our economy. A revolution in natural gas production over the past two years has left America awash with natural gas and has made it possible to eliminate most of our dependence on deadly, destructive coal practically overnight – and without the expense of building new power plants.

"Whatever the slick campaign financed by the powerful coal barons might claim, coal is neither cheap nor clean. Ozone and particulates… from coal plants kill tens of thousands…each year and cause widespread illnesses…Acid rain has destroyed millions of acres of valuable forests…Neurotoxic mercury… poisons over a million American women and children annually. Coal industry strip mines have already destroyed 500 mountains in Appalachia, buried 2,000 miles of rivers and streams and will soon have flattened an area the size of Delaware…[and coal] is the most important source of America’s greenhouse gases."

From the NY Times. (click to enlarge)

"America’s cornucopia of renewables and the recent maturation of solar, geothermal and wind technologies will allow us to meet most of our energy needs with clean, cheap, green power. In the short term, natural gas is an obvious bridge fuel to the “new” energy economy…America has more gas generation capacity – 450 gigawatts – than it does for coal…

"…[P]ublic regulators generally require utilities to dispatch coal-generated power in preference to gas…By changing the dispatch rule nationally to require that…gas generation must be utilised first, we could quickly reduce coal generation and achieve massive emissions reductions…eliminate three-quarters of America’s coal-burning generators and save a fortune in energy costs…[A]ntiquated and horrendously inefficient...ancient [coal] plants burn 20 per cent more coal per megawatt hour than modern large coal units and are 60 to 75 per cent less fuel-efficient than combined cycle gas plants. They account for only 21 per cent of America’s electric power but almost half the sector’s emissions…"

click to enlarge

"…[T]hrottling back these plants would mean huge savings to the public and eliminate the need for more than 350m tons of coal…Their closure would reduce US mercury emissions…dramatically cut…acid rain, and slash America’s CO2…To quickly gain further economic and environmental advantages, the larger, newer coal plants…should be required to co-fire with natural gas…

"Natural gas comes with its own set of environmental caveats. It is a carbon-based fuel and its extraction from shale, the most significant new source, if not managed carefully, can have serious water, land use and wildlife impacts, especially in the hands of irresponsible producers and lax regulators. But those impacts can be mitigated by careful regulation and are dwarfed by the disaster of coal."