Regis Philbin
Apr 24th, 2008, 11:56 PM
:blueeek: Oh, my gosh!!! Look! The sophisticated and enlightened people of Europe are switching back to *gasp!* COAL! COAL is the worst four-letter word in the world to environmentalists.
Reeg, why would those enlightened people do such a thing?
Well, because oil is pushing $120 and they produce a lot of their power from oil. Not only is oil expensive now, but those countries in the Middle East aren't exactly the most reliable in the world, in case ya haven't noticed. The oil supply is always at risk. Coal is more available and, well, cheap. Yep. :nod:
Yeah, but this is going to put them over their Kyoto cap for emissions, huh?
They've been over the Kyoto cap for a long time. What's the difference? People need cheap power, know what I'm sayin'? It's a neccessity.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/23/world/europe/23coal.html?hp
Europe Turns Back to Coal, Raising Climate Fears
About 50 coal-fired power plants are scheduled to begin operating in Europe in the next five years.
By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL
Published: April 23, 2008
CIVITAVECCHIA, Italy — At a time when the world’s top climate experts agree that carbon emissions must be rapidly reduced to hold down global warming, Italy’s major electricity producer, Enel, is converting its massive power plant here from oil to coal, generally the dirtiest fuel on earth.
Over the next five years, Italy will increase its reliance on coal to 33 percent from 14 percent. Power generated by Enel from coal will rise to 50 percent.
And Italy is not alone in its return to coal. Driven by rising demand, record high oil and natural gas prices, concerns over energy security and an aversion to nuclear energy, European countries are expected to put into operation about 50 coal-fired plants over the next five years, plants that will be in use for the next five decades.
In the United States, fewer new coal plants are likely to begin operations, in part because it is becoming harder to get regulatory permits and in part because nuclear power remains an alternative. Of 151 proposals in early 2007, more than 60 had been dropped by the year’s end, many blocked by state governments. Dozens of other are stuck in court challenges.
The fast-expanding developing economies of India and China, where coal remains a major fuel source for more than two billion people, have long been regarded as among the biggest challenges to reducing carbon emissions. But the return now to coal even in eco-conscious Europe is sowing real alarm among environmentalists who warn that it is setting the world on a disastrous trajectory that will make controlling global warming impossible.
Reeg, why would those enlightened people do such a thing?
Well, because oil is pushing $120 and they produce a lot of their power from oil. Not only is oil expensive now, but those countries in the Middle East aren't exactly the most reliable in the world, in case ya haven't noticed. The oil supply is always at risk. Coal is more available and, well, cheap. Yep. :nod:
Yeah, but this is going to put them over their Kyoto cap for emissions, huh?
They've been over the Kyoto cap for a long time. What's the difference? People need cheap power, know what I'm sayin'? It's a neccessity.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/23/world/europe/23coal.html?hp
Europe Turns Back to Coal, Raising Climate Fears
About 50 coal-fired power plants are scheduled to begin operating in Europe in the next five years.
By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL
Published: April 23, 2008
CIVITAVECCHIA, Italy — At a time when the world’s top climate experts agree that carbon emissions must be rapidly reduced to hold down global warming, Italy’s major electricity producer, Enel, is converting its massive power plant here from oil to coal, generally the dirtiest fuel on earth.
Over the next five years, Italy will increase its reliance on coal to 33 percent from 14 percent. Power generated by Enel from coal will rise to 50 percent.
And Italy is not alone in its return to coal. Driven by rising demand, record high oil and natural gas prices, concerns over energy security and an aversion to nuclear energy, European countries are expected to put into operation about 50 coal-fired plants over the next five years, plants that will be in use for the next five decades.
In the United States, fewer new coal plants are likely to begin operations, in part because it is becoming harder to get regulatory permits and in part because nuclear power remains an alternative. Of 151 proposals in early 2007, more than 60 had been dropped by the year’s end, many blocked by state governments. Dozens of other are stuck in court challenges.
The fast-expanding developing economies of India and China, where coal remains a major fuel source for more than two billion people, have long been regarded as among the biggest challenges to reducing carbon emissions. But the return now to coal even in eco-conscious Europe is sowing real alarm among environmentalists who warn that it is setting the world on a disastrous trajectory that will make controlling global warming impossible.