Clean Coal

This is a famous oxymoron. Even if coal can be made to burn cleaner than it does, it still destroys the world when it is mined. China has just pumped 7.5 billion dollars into a small Australian town to bring the coal from under that town to a seaport so that it can be burned in Chinese power plants. The population of this town will triple with the new jobs produced.

The town itself will probably become unlivable in a few decades. Look at what has happened to a large part of the state of West Virginia. Once pristine mountain streams are now dead and killing the rivers into which they flow. Ash retaining ponds at power plants are collapsing and destroying the nearby environments.

The insatiable demand for energy today is driving us to destroy the world that our children will inherit. This feels like the beginning of a bad “B” movie. Picture yourself walking in a barren landscape, trying to avoid deadly violent mutations looking for something to eat that won’t poison you. Science fiction….I doubt it.



David Segrest, CCIM, CIPS, CEA, TRC, is a REALTOR in Charlotte NC. His web page is http://www.segrestrealty.com. His email address is david@segrestrealty.com.