The Wall Street Journal’s Presidential Power: Watch What McCain and Obama Say Tonight About Coal.
And one crucial aspect of energy policy has become a constant drumbeat on the campaign in recent weeks: The need to keep the lights on without killing the environment or people’s paychecks.
Both the McCain and Obama campaigns have fought tooth and nail to stress their support for “clean coal,” a technology where carbon-dioxide emissions are theoretically captured and stored underground. Senator Joe Biden and Governor Sarah Palin found one of their rare moments of agreement in the vice-presidential debate (aside from a mutual love of Israel and a mutual opposition to gay marriage) in their whole-hearted support for clean coal.
(And there were plenty of bows to “clean coal” in the debate tonight.)
Here’s the comment I posted:
The coal is there, but the economics aren’t good (even without considering climate change).
The subsidies to the coal industry exceed its revenue and probably its market cap. If the coal industry were a division of your company you would shut it down as non-performing asset and write off the loss. (http://blogs.natlogic.com/friend/2007/09/no_more_coal.html)
Here’s a better option, with better economic returns as well as better environmental results: http://www.www.oilendgame.com/