All the coal money in the world can't cover up the fact that coal fired power plants are one of our dirtiest and most dangerous energy sources.
Coal-fired power plants are the United States' single biggest pollution problem, the source of
- global warming pollution (2,134.1 million tons in 2006)
- acid-rain causing sulfur dioxide pollution (9.8 million tons in 2004)
- airborne emissions of birth-defect and brain-damage causing mercury pollution (approximately 48 tons each year.)
In addition, U.S. coal-burning plants annually emit 56 tons of arsenic, 62 tons of lead compounds, 62 tons of chromium compounds, 23,000 tons of hydrogen fluoride, and 134,000 tons of hydrochloric acid.
The annual costs to human and environmental health are staggering. Quick example: the pollution from coal-fired power plants is responsible for roughly 24,000 deaths per year in the United States. And this doesn't even get into the devastation from traditional coal mining, mountaintop mining or the leftovers after coal is burned.
There is a better way to meet America's power needs.
Energy efficiency is the fastest, cheapest, and cleanest energy resource we have. Efficiency saves consumers and businesses money on their energy bills, reduces global warming pollution, and keeps American energy dollars here. Making just 5% of American homes more energy efficient would eliminate the need for almost 300 power plants by 2030 and save American consumers billions in energy costs.
By shifting our investments to truly clean energy sources like efficiency and renewables, we can move America toward 100% clean electricity. And dollar for dollar, investing in clean energy (efficiency and renewables like wind and solar) creates more jobs than investing in traditional energy sources like oil and gas.