Coal: the cleanest energy source there is?

[BMT (RIP)]

http://www.foxnews.com/science/2013/02/20/coal-cleanest-energy-source-there-is/

Just Damn!!!
Now who is ZERO going to target?

BMT

[mark46th]

Damn! Just when I was thinking about going into the carbon credit business...

[bandycpa]

I hope this is viable. Here in my neck of the woods, the day after the election, it was as if most of us had been stomachpunched. The prevailing thought was that our little area, coal-dominated as it has been for years, would fade away.

This could bring the industry back to prominence, and keep our guys employed for years to come.

Of course, the cynic in me wonders if the process will ever see life outside of the lab.

Bandy

[Airbornelawyer]

Some environmentalists are skeptical of the technology, and of the idea of clean coal in general. ... Donald Brown at liberal think tank Climate Progress.
Of course, people like him, who represent more ideologically than scientifically motivated organizations, are skeptical. Would be nice to hear from an actual environmental or energy scientist for the skeptic's perspective, rather than an environmental lawyer speaking on behalf of a left-wing interest group ("Climate Progress" is part of the Center for American Progress).

Yet the federal Department of Energy believes that the process can create 20 megawatts to 50 megawatts by 2020, said Jared Ciferno, the agency’s director of coal and power-production research and development, in a statement.
On the flip side, though, for a note of skepticism, I would note that total US power generation is measured in terawatts. So before getting too hopeful I would be curious to know how much more it would cost to develop this capacity which would amount to about a millionth of US needs in 2020 (maybe less - math is hard).

I have the same skepticism regarding environmentalists who sing the praises of alternative energy like wind and solar without admitting that the only currently viable alternative energy capable of the amount of power generation needed to supplant fossile fuels is nuclear power.

[medic&commo]

Fantastic!
Now no one can legitimately bitch, course they still might, but sounds like a win-win situation.
I too wonder how long the process goes from the lab to large scale usage.
m&c

[Utah Bob]

When the wind blows from the coal fired power plant down on the Navajo Rez, the air quality goes into the toilet here. There is no heavy industry to blame for it. Clean coal my ass.
That is a place that needs the new technology (if it works) now!

[Peregrino]

What part did the Occidental PhDs and grad students play in the research that led to this article? Not that I mind the Chinese getting and using the technology (if it works, think of what it could do for their polution - which by the way, is adversely affecting the PNW w/acid rain, etc.), just that I'm wondering if this isn't another case of brilliant foreigners taking greater advantage of US educational opportunities than native Americans.