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The myth of clean coal
Clean coal refers to several technologies that are used in converting emissions from burning coal such as carbon dioxide to reduce the greenhouse footprint and contribute towards managing climate change. Advocacy towards maintaining the production of energy through coal is based on the fact that coal is a cheap and more reliable source of energy compared to other renewable sources. The source of energy has been dubbed as “clean” since the introduction of technologies that reduce the amount of carbon iv oxide, nitrous oxide and Sulphur dioxide emitted in the air, hence reducing the fall of acidic rain and depletion of the ozone layer.
In their article “The Myth of Donald Trump’s ‘Beautiful Clean Coal,” Hodges, Wilkes, and Watanabe, cite the President’s remarks on reviving more coal plants by implementing the use of “clean coal.” This is in contrary to his counterparts such as the German chancellor who aims at closing all coal plants, even those considered the cleanest in Germany (Hodges, Wilkes, and Watanabe). For instance, General Electric Co. is one major coal facility in Germany with the highest emissions of greenhouse gases. Although the authors point out countries that are fighting coal energy, they do not seem to share a similar opinion with them. They tend to lean on the probabilities of using clean coal in energy production.
I, however, do not agree with the authors as coal energy presents a threat to the world that is fighting for green energy and better actions to reduce global warming. Moreover, the cost required when producing clean coal is much higher (at least 40% higher) as compared to when it produces unclean energy. Besides, approximately 70% of coal is wasted when clean coal is used as it has to go through filtering processes to remove any other dirt. The authors, however, argue that the amount of carbon dioxide emission is reduced by 25%-35%, which makes it almost the same level as natural gas in terms of polluting the environment (Hodges, Wilkes, and Watanabe).
The authors also provide compelling evidence and cases that cite the effectiveness of continuing to use coal as a source of energy. For example, they use the EnBW’s so-called RDK8 unit in Karlsruhe coal facility that has been named as supercritical as one of the cases that show technologies that have been employed to use clean coal. The technology, in this case, is reusing water in the process to produce extra electricity; which could be a cheap source of energy for countries such as Indonesia and Bangladesh.
Although using “clean coal” may serve as a cheap source of energy for both developed and developing countries, its effects on the environment cannot be ignored. There is no sufficient evidence to conclude that “clean coal” is clean and has no adverse effects on the climate and the people around the plants. Moreover, the costs involved in adopting these new technologies are very high and will require heavy investments which may not be possible for developing countries. Also, coal mining poses an environmental as well as a health risk to those working in the mines. Therefore, projecting energy and resources towards more research and improvement in green energy will bring the world a step closer in fighting climate change and solving other risks associated with coal energy.
Work cited
Hodges, Jeremy, William Wilkes, and Chisaki Watanabe. “Bloomberg – The Myth Of Donald Trump’s “Beautiful Clean Coal.”” Bloomberg.com. N.p., 2018. Web. 9 Apr. 2019.
