Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jesse Beck on July 7, 2010 at 12:42

Good News Bad News story below:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/7/7/882402/-Quietly,-the-Obama-E...

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Permalink Reply by Two Dogs, Pirate on July 7, 2010 at 13:50

Didn't think of it that way Mac. H2S is bad stuff. Do you think that the Dolet hills lignite mine, feeding the power plant at I-49 just South of the Mansfield exit, is spiting out a lot of bad stuff? Rodamacher, or whatever they call it now, just North of Boyce on I-49 has (3 or 4) can't remember but think it is 3 units that can burn just about anything in the fossil fuels (Coal, Fuel Oil, Natural Gas, Petroleum Coke, etc). The last unit is just completed coming in at around a billion dollars. CLECO has added some sort of conveyor or pipeline to supply petroleum coke to the plant from barges on Red River, it looks like a roller coaster track that comes under the overpass just North of Boyce..

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Permalink Reply by Mac Davis on July 7, 2010 at 19:09

Two dogs, I would expect a coal fired power plant to output SO2, not H2S. Still bad stuff, but not as bad as H2S. All coal plants put out CO2, SO2, mercury, and a number of other pollutants, even with the best environmental technologies. Even if you don't believe in CO2 global warning, the other stuff is bad for the environment.

As for "spitting out a lot of bad stuff," yes, it probably does. If it's a newer power plant, it probably spits out a lot less bad stuff than an older power plant would. Even if you build a good, relatively clean power plant, when you burn tons and tons of coal, you're going to produce large quantities of pollutants. It's probably not particularly dangerous to nearby residents, but it harms the environment as a whole.

I still say coal fired power plants are a good thing in terms of the net good for society as a whole vs. the harm they do. We should keep trying to reduce the damage they do to the environment and work for cleaner and better power sources in the future.

It would be nice to shut down all the pollution producing power plants, cars, etc., but unless we design and implement non-polluting alternatives first, our society would collapse and most of us would starve. And the rest of the world would keep polluting the air we breathe.

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Permalink Reply by The_Baron on July 8, 2010 at 2:56

In an average year, a typical coal plant generates:
3,700,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2),

10,000 tons of sulfur dioxide (SO2), which causes acid rain that damages forests, lakes, and buildings, and forms small airborne particles that can penetrate deep into lungs.

500 tons of small airborne particles, which can cause chronic bronchitis, aggravated asthma, and premature death, as well as haze obstructing visibility.

10,200 tons of nitrogen oxide (NOx), as much as would be emitted by half a million late-model cars. NOx leads to formation of ozone (smog) which inflames the lungs, burning through lung tissue making people more susceptible to respiratory illness.

720 tons of carbon monoxide (CO), which causes headaches and place additional stress on people with heart disease.

220 tons of hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds (VOC), which form ozone.

170 pounds of mercury, where just 1/70th of a teaspoon deposited on a 25-acre lake can make the fish unsafe to eat.

225 pounds of arsenic, which will cause cancer in one out of 100 people who drink water containing 50 parts per billion.


114 pounds of lead, 4 pounds of cadmium, other toxic heavy metals, and trace amounts of uranium.



Scrubbers do remove many of these elements.

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Permalink Reply by Jack Blake on July 6, 2010 at 17:09

Yep- need to reserve all minerals except gas, oil and condensate said Jack Blake.
Lots of good info on writing your addendum page here also. Jack wishes he had taken more tome to study on GHS prior to doing lease.
Depth clauses ...heck theres tons of stuff to have and not have in lease and you can learn it all on GHS.
GHS Rocks howled Jack Blake!

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Permalink Reply by robert minton on July 7, 2010 at 14:24

cap and trade legislation, as well as increasing epa regulations being put into effect, will make natural gas "king and queen".

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Permalink Reply by Mac Davis on July 8, 2010 at 17:08

I suspect that any carbon caps that get adopted will be quickly dropped once the citizens figure out how much money it's going to cost them and fuel or electricity shortages start. All these moron voters seem to think that somehow Exxon, Centerpoint Energy, and American Electric Power are going to be paying the carbon taxes and not passing it along to the customer.

Coal is the power source that America has. I don't think wishful treehugger thinking will hold out long enough in the face of cold, hard reality when the lights go out.

I wish we would take effective steps to reduce fossil fuel use. Unfortunately, it's simply turned into another political football for everyone to play with.

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