More: Systematic coal pollution laws dimantling (NYT Magazine).

[NNadir]

"


"Changing All the Rules
By BRUCE BARCOTT

Published: April 4, 2004


President Bush doesn't talk about new-source review very often. In fact, he has mentioned it in a speech to the public only once, in remarks he delivered on Sept. 15, 2003, to a cheering crowd of power-plant workers and executives in Monroe, Mich., about 35 miles south of Detroit. It was an ideal audience for his chosen subject. New-source review, or N.S.R., involves an obscure and complex set of environmental rules and regulations that most Americans have never heard of, but to people who work in the power industry, few subjects are more crucial.

The Monroe plant, which is operated by Detroit Edison, is one of the nation's top polluters. Its coal-fired generators emit more mercury, a toxic chemical, than any other power plant in the state. Until recently, power plants like the one in Monroe were governed by N.S.R. regulations..."

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/04/magazine/04BUSH.html

[aquart]

1. It will cost billions we no longer have to clean BushCo's mess.

Our air, our water, our land. He has poisoned everything.

There is no way for slurry to turn up in rich, gated communities? In large multimillion dollar mansions?

Sorry. Just had a momentary fantasy of having Willow's powers.

[NNadir]

2. Exactly. Bleak isn't it?

[megatherium]

3. Mountaintop removal mining

is another reason to dislike coal. It's an environmental horror show.

[drb]

4. There's two sides to this story....

Say you build a power plant. During construction, you probably about double the cost to allow for pollution control equipment. So everything's fine, right?

So far, so good

Now during the life of the plant, things break. They wear out, corrode, someone pushes the wrong button, whatever. So now you have to put in a brand new Gizmo to replace the old broken Gizmo. Soon as the new Gizmo is installed, the nice man from the EPA shows up and says, "Aha! You have a new Gizmo! That's the same as building a new power plant, so now you have to meet all the new regulations!"

"But wait!" you cry. "The old Gizmo was broken, and we had to replace it! We met every environmental regulation when we built the plant! Why do we have to meet a whole new set of regulations just because our old Gizmo broke and now we put in a new one? The new Gizmo adds zero to our pollution - not a molecule! This ain't fair! you're changing the rules in the middle of the game!"

Clearly, no one is in favor of breathing mercury. However, something like 85% of the mercury going into the atmosphere comes from coal plants in China. There are reputable studies that say you could completely eliminate mercury emissions in the US, and the difference in the atmosphere wouldn't be measurable. See http://www.winporter.com/op-ed6.html or http://www.techcentralstation.com/050803F.html or do your own Google search.

So, those are the facts, dear reader. Clearly, Your Boy George is a schmuck, and pretty much screws up anything he can. But on this issue, let me encourage you to do your own research and decide.