Coal Use Set to Increase in the Global Energy Mix

A combination of strong demand, record oil and gas prices, concerns over energy security and a reluctance to recommit to nuclear energy, has seen a renaissance of coal in the European energy mix. This is a trend closely mirrored in the US and Asia. However, while coal might help to fill growing energy security gaps, it raises some profound environmental questions.

No less than 50 coal-fired plants have been slated for construction over the next five years in the EU alone, while India and China are currently constructing a new coal-fired plant every week. Coal is also continuing to gather momentum in the US; 150 proposals for coal-fired plants were put forward in 2007, most of which are likely to gain permits.

http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1366237/coal_use_set_to_increase_in_the_global_energy_mix/

:eyes:

Any alternative energy technology which has been dismissed as a 'stopgap' measure needs to be brought back up for discussion. We have a big gap that needs stoppin', and nothing to fill it.

You might also check up on their inability to get financing and why that is. If we don't step up and provide leadership under this next presidential administration, then I'll agree we are in trouble, but the indications are that coal is on it's way out unless it can deal with carbon. When we abdicated our leadership role on CC under Clinton and Bush, we severely impacted the momentum that the rest of the world was trying to build. Obama has pledged to bring Gore on board to shepherd our CC policies; how do you think he is going to approach the issue?

Whatever Obama (he of the coal-fired support base) and Gore do in the USA has to balance out what Chindia is doing.

I have an idea. Gore and Obama should convince the American electorate to close down two American coal plants a week to balance the Chindian construction boom...

Think about technological dissemination. Where we lead, they will follow. In the meantime, we can influence China's behavior by linking access to our markets to point of origin CO2 emissions.
China is already pushing renewables harder than we are. They just raised their goal for wind power from 20 GW by 2020 to 100 GW by 2020.

Tell Uncle Milton the real world says hi.

In the meantime, China is adding almost 100 GW of coal and natural gas PER YEAR, NOW.

Do you see the problem with aiming for ONLY 100 GW of installed wind 8 years from now, when in that same timeframe they'd add 800 GW of fossil-based installations?

2020 is 12 years away. By then China will have 100 GW of renewables and 1200 GW of new fossil fuel plants. And that's if all goes according to the Central Committee's plans...

Like I said Environmentalism is going right out the window.

Except in this game, we rip out our own hearts :banghead:

Ready to admit that nuclear energy is needed yet?