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In case you needed a reminder of how dirty coal is, Environment Oregon has the study for you.
They used the EPA's Acid Rain Program data of CO2 emissions from individual power plants from 2007 (because that was the most recent final data available) to evaluate where America's emissions are coming from. The result? Unsurprisingly, Environment Oregon's study illustrates once again that coal is the dirtiest fuel around.
The other fossil fuels, of course, aren't exactly clean, but coal supplies more of America's electricity—just under half of the total—than any other source, and it has the highest carbon content per unit of energy of all the fossil fuels. So, every kilowatt-hour generated from coal produces more CO2 emissions than every kilowatt-hour from oil or natural gas. That adds up: more than 80 percent of the CO2 pollution emitted from U.S. power plants in 2007 came from coal-fired power plants. Other contaminants, like mercury and soot-forming pollutants, were found to be higher as well. And the older the coal plant, the greater the emissions.
Age matters
According to the study, 73 percent of 2007 CO2 emissions came from plants built before 1980. Environment Oregon points out that these "dinosaur plants were built in the same decade that the television first became commercially available." And it gets more specific: "each year older a coal generator is on average, it created 0.001 more tons of CO2 for each Megawatt-hour of electricity it produced in 2007." (The natural gas average for this is even worse.)
Green energy: Start at home
Legislative intervention is needed. ASAP. And Environment Oregon delineates three recommendations for lawmakers to follow: The EPA should set modern standards for pollution, and Congress should not only pass clean energy and global warming legislation, but also eliminate subsidies that perpetuate our fossil fuel dependency).
But the take-home message here is to not wait for Washington to act before we do. (Look to lobbyists for at least one clue as to why change is proving slow, even by Washington's standards: the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity alone spent at least $40 million dollars in 2008—more than $100,000 a day—on lobbying and advertising, including campaigns like the ridiculous clean coal carolers.)
The good news is that it's getting easier and easier to take yourself off the polluting grid: from the major utilities' clean energy options to home-grown renewable energy coops, there's a way to green your energy at home today.
TreeHugger has a green energy cheat-sheet that will guide you through five options for greening your energy consumption. If those don't suit you, the Department of Energy can lend a hand. Of course, look for local resources as well: in Seattle or LA, for example, and in New York, you're just three clicks away from green energy.
More on green power:
Sign Up for Green Power: It's the Easiest Way to Make a Big Green Impact
5 Good Ways to Get Green Power Into Your Home
How to Find Green Energy Anywhere
Focus Earth: Not In My Backyard: Coal Ash Landfill (VIDEO)
