Clean Coal? Myth or Reality.

Clean Coal? Myth or Reality. The year is 2017 in Trumps first presidency where Trump began using a term "clean coal". While the term does sound nice most Americans have never heard of that term before and where rightly confused on what "clean coal" was. "Clean coal" was not just some made up term Trump made up on the spot but this discussion of "clean coal" started back in 2008 sites Tom LoBianco of the Washington Post. We as a society need energy like heat and power to survive and it is through our use of non renewable resources like coal are we able to thrive. However that usage does not come without a cost as the consumption of non renewable resources let out carbon dioxide that cause green house effects. That is why as discussions of climate change begin to heat up demanding change in how we provide our energy Trump has started to push for "clean coal". "Clean coal" refers and is "understood to mean coal plants that capture the carbon dioxide emitted from smokestacks and bury it underground as a way of limiting global warming" (Plumer, 1) However despite the great idea there is not a lot of well researched of "clean coal" and costs companies a exuberant amount of money. So while "clean coal" does sound like a solution to coals emissions because of the cost it takes companies to capture and storage and maintain these facilities "clean coal" is not a solution global warming, while also not being research well enough to prove effective in the first place. That "clean coal" is rather a process of burning coal that is only slightly better than previous methods. Supporters of "clean coal" my claim that capturing and storing the gasses as a solution fail to take into account that "Only one coal plant in the United States" (Plumer, 2).o even though Trump may be talking about "clean coal" there was no indications of Trump investing/updating previous factories or making anew. Thus a new and still young method for an attempt to reduce the carbon gasses released from coal becomes a flat buzz word to make people feel safe about the usage of coal. There is nothing wrong with being a believer of capturing and storing gases but "The Southern Company had to abandon a more ambitious coal carbon capture project in Kemper, Miss., in June after it ran $4 billion over budget. No other coal plants of this sort are currently being constructed in the United States." (Plumer, 5). As seen in the quote the cost for making a "clean coal" plant was just far to expensive, outweighing any positives and chances for future investments. Due to this cost no companies would want to make coal plants cleaner as it only takes away profits. Therefore Trump would have to add more regulations which "to install the necessary scrubbers and pipelines in the absence of stricter climate regulations or a price on carbon, two policies Mr. Trump has fiercely opposed". Finally Julio Friedmann senior research scholar at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy claims "Coal can never be clean" (17). Just because you make the burning of coal theoretically not harmful. Coal will always be environmentally harmful because of the mining and transportation. The same rhetoric Michael Hendryx Professor Emeritus in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health carries "we found people who live where mountaintop removal takes places... significantly higher levels of chronic lung disease" (5:52). In short while Trump may like to use the term "clean coal" to quell the publics concerns with climate change. All uses of coal are never clean and always do come with a cost. While capturing and storing gases let out by the burning of coal in the earths surface does look to be more environmentally friendly. The cost of storing gases proves to high with trumps hard stance on not improving coal plant regulations. Making the term "clean coal" nothing more than a political diversion aimed to quite debates of climate change for regular Americans with a lack of knowledge. Work Cited Plumer, Brad. “What ‘clean Coal’ Is - and Isn’t.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 23 Aug. 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/08/23/climate/what-clean-coal-is-and-isnt.html. LoBianco, Tom. “Groups Spend Millions in ‘clean Coal’ Ad War.” The Washington Times, The Washington Times, 25 Dec. 2008, www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/dec/25/groups-spend-millions-in-clean-coal-ad-war/. Hendryx, Michael. “The Shocking Danger of Mountaintop Removal -- and Why It Must End.” Michael Hendryx: The Shocking Danger of Mountaintop Removal -- and Why It Must End | TED Talk, TED, 2017, www.ted.com/talks/michael_hendryx_the_shocking_danger_of_mountaintop_removal_and_why_it_must_end. FactCheck.org, and Donald Trump President of the United States https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-press-gaggle-aboard-air-force-one/. “Clearing up the Facts behind Trump’s ‘clean Coal’ Catchphrase.” FactCheck.Org, 5 Dec. 2018, www.factcheck.org/2018/11/clearing-up-the-facts-behind-trumps-clean-coal-catchphrase/.