Hundreds of old coal-fired power plants that provide 40 percent of the world's power could be retired in the process, eliminating up to one-third of global carbon dioxide emissions, while creating millions of new jobs, a study asserts.
Read the report. http://www.worldwatch.org/press/prerelease/EWP178.pdf"> Read the report.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- New technologies will move the world economy away from coal and other fossil fuels much more rapidly than experts from the energy industry would have the public believe, according to a new study by the Worldwatch Institute.
Hundreds of old coal-fired power plants that provide 40 percent of the world's power could be retired in the process, eliminating up to one-third of global carbon dioxide emissions, while creating millions of new jobs, the study asserted.
"We are on the verge of an energy revolution," said Christopher Flavin, president of Worldwatch and author of the report, "Low-Carbon Energy: A Roadmap," issued earlier this month.
Worldwatch, a nonprofit that follows environmental and poverty issues, argues that reducing dependence on fossil fuels will not only "strike a defiant blow to the climate crisis," but also act "as an agent of recovery for an ailing global economy."
The 49-page report disputes arguments from coal industry advocates who say the world's energy future must be based mostly on finding ways to capture greenhouse emissions from coal-fired plants and pump those emissions underground.
"While these technologies are advancing, together with advances in modeling and monitoring of geological sites, full-scale commercial [carbon capture and storage] systems are still a long way off," the Worldwatch report said. "And a vast physical infrastructure will be needed to capture, move and store the emissions from even a fraction of today's fossil fuels combustion."
The report found that government-sponsored carbon capture research projects in the United States, the European Union, Japan and China have moved at a "surprisingly lethargic" pace "given the urgency of the climate problem and the fact that much of the power industry is counting on CCS [carbon capture and storage] to allow them to continue burning massive amounts of coal.
"How large a role CCS ultimately plays in a low-carbon economy will depend on how much it costs, and whether governments and industries are able to successfully mobilize the massive infrastructure that will be required," the study said.
Meanwhile, the Worldwatch study said, there are concrete steps the world could be taking to transition to a low-carbon economy:
Make buildings more efficient - Buildings consume about 40 percent of global energy and emit a comparable share of carbon dioxide emissions. More efficient lighting and appliances and improved walls and windows could reduce energy use in buildings by 70 percent or more, with the investment paid for via lower energy bills.Improve efficiency of power plants - Two-thirds of the energy contained in the fuel for most power plants is converted to waste heat or lost in distribution. Combined heat and power systems can reduce those losses to less than 20 percent and provide the U.S. with 150 gigawatts of generating capacity - more than nuclear power now provides.Expand wind power - In 2007, wind power represented 40 percent of new generating capacity installations in Europe and 35 percent in the United States. Wind power now costs less than 6 cents per kilowatt-hour on average, less than natural gas and roughly even with coal.
"We no longer need to say 'in the future' when talking about a low-carbon energy system," Flavin said. "These technologies - unlike carbon-capture facilities - are being deployed now and are poised to make the most carbon-intensive fossil fuels obsolete."
Reach Ken Ward Jr. at kw...@wvgazette.com or at 304-348-1702.
http://www.worldwatch.org/press/prerelease/EWP178.pdf"> Read the report.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- New technologies will move the world economy away from coal and other fossil fuels much more rapidly than experts from the energy industry would have the public believe, according to a new study by the Worldwatch Institute.
Hundreds of old coal-fired power plants that provide 40 percent of the world's power could be retired in the process, eliminating up to one-third of global carbon dioxide emissions, while creating millions of new jobs, the study asserted.
"We are on the verge of an energy revolution," said Christopher Flavin, president of Worldwatch and author of the report, "Low-Carbon Energy: A Roadmap," issued earlier this month.
Worldwatch, a nonprofit that follows environmental and poverty issues, argues that reducing dependence on fossil fuels will not only "strike a defiant blow to the climate crisis," but also act "as an agent of recovery for an ailing global economy."
The 49-page report disputes arguments from coal industry advocates who say the world's energy future must be based mostly on finding ways to capture greenhouse emissions from coal-fired plants and pump those emissions underground.
"While these technologies are advancing, together with advances in modeling and monitoring of geological sites, full-scale commercial [carbon capture and storage] systems are still a long way off," the Worldwatch report said. "And a vast physical infrastructure will be needed to capture, move and store the emissions from even a fraction of today's fossil fuels combustion."
The report found that government-sponsored carbon capture research projects in the United States, the European Union, Japan and China have moved at a "surprisingly lethargic" pace "given the urgency of the climate problem and the fact that much of the power industry is counting on CCS [carbon capture and storage] to allow them to continue burning massive amounts of coal.
"How large a role CCS ultimately plays in a low-carbon economy will depend on how much it costs, and whether governments and industries are able to successfully mobilize the massive infrastructure that will be required," the study said.
Meanwhile, the Worldwatch study said, there are concrete steps the world could be taking to transition to a low-carbon economy:
Make buildings more efficient - Buildings consume about 40 percent of global energy and emit a comparable share of carbon dioxide emissions. More efficient lighting and appliances and improved walls and windows could reduce energy use in buildings by 70 percent or more, with the investment paid for via lower energy bills.Improve efficiency of power plants - Two-thirds of the energy contained in the fuel for most power plants is converted to waste heat or lost in distribution. Combined heat and power systems can reduce those losses to less than 20 percent and provide the U.S. with 150 gigawatts of generating capacity - more than nuclear power now provides.Expand wind power - In 2007, wind power represented 40 percent of new generating capacity installations in Europe and 35 percent in the United States. Wind power now costs less than 6 cents per kilowatt-hour on average, less than natural gas and roughly even with coal."We no longer need to say 'in the future' when talking about a low-carbon energy system," Flavin said. "These technologies - unlike carbon-capture facilities - are being deployed now and are poised to make the most carbon-intensive fossil fuels obsolete."
Reach Ken Ward Jr. at kw...@wvgazette.com or at 304-348-1702.
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"This sounds like "Global 2000", which was released in 1980 by the Council on Environmental Quality. This report stated that
"if present trends continue, the world in 2000 will be more crowded, more polluted, less stable ecologically, and more vulnerable to disruption than the world we live in now."
With the benefit of historical perspective, we are now able to see the fallacy of such dire predictions."
In response, the world IS more crowded. 4.5 Billion people in 1980, 6.5 Billion people now.
The world is also more polluted. CO2 emissions are increasing by 3% per year. 11.4% of Forests have been converted since 1992. Natural aquifers are being depleted. 30% of the Gulf of Mexico is designated as a "dead zone" due to fertilizer runoff. 24,000 people die prematurely every year due to coal-related emissions. New Orleans was so devastated b/c the wetlands had been destroyed (thus the protective barrier b/w ocean and land).
Thats just the tip of the iceberg.
They "work with a network of more than 150 partners in 40 countries who utilize (their) research in a variety of ways."
They have outstanding credibility.
WV is NOT a coal state, you're only made to believe that it is. Coal only accounts for 10-13% of the state's economic activity and provides less than 3% of the state's jobs. Mountaintop Removal even less.
Surface mining accounts for over 45% of WV coal production. MTR for 30%. Surface mining in southern WV accounts for 57% of all coal production. MTR for 40%.