Several news agency have reported that the plans to build 11 new coal-based power plants across Texas may be reduced due to an offer by a private investment group to purchase TXU. (See the recent article in the Waco Tribune-Herald by staff writer J.B. Smith detailed at http://www.wacotrib.com/news/content/news/stories/2007/02/27/02272007wactxusale.html.)
While doing the math, and recognizing that 3 is less than 11, I remain my pessimistic and cynical self. What if the plan all along was to build 3? How would I build coal plants while 'An Inconvenient Truth' is winning an Oscar?
If I were CEO of an energy company and I wanted to build some coal-based power plants I'd gather all of my rich friends and my politician friends (who are elected or re-elected due to my rich friends) and we'd announce a plan to build 20 'clean' coal plants and put them on a fast track in Texas.
Sure, there would be protests by all of the people that like blue skies and don't like to pay for rising health care costs for themselves or neighbors living near the 'clean' coal plants, or long term disabilities and chronic health problems that are associated with mining (Where do we think the coal comes from?)
So then we let the protests and public hearings go on for awhile and then announce our plans to accelerate the building of all of the plants. Just before we cut the ribbon to build our first plant we announce our 'compromise' plan to only build a handful of coal plants and use clean, renewable sources for the rest. We still get to darken the skies with our 3 coal plants as we'd always intended, but now we are heroes.
Sorry if I don't join the parade just yet. Building any coal plants in the year 2007 and beyond, based upon the technology we now have and the scientific and medical knowledge we have is unconscionable and we will pay the hidden costs in the form of rising health care costs, global warming and disaster (such as Katrina).
I recognize that 3 is less than 11. But zero is less than 3 and when it comes to new coal plants, zero is my favorite number.
George Polisner,
Founder, alonovo.com
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