The
Price of “Clean Coal”
by Henry Robertson, MO Chapter Energy Chair
It’s hard to write
about energy without landing you in an alphabet soup, but I’ll try to keep
the acronyms to a minimum. When it comes to “clean coal,” there are two
that keep cropping up: IGCC and CCS.
IGCC
stands for Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle. In an IGCC power plant
coal is not burned but chemically converted into a synthetic gas (syngas)
that generates electricity in a gas turbine. The waste heat is then used
to create steam in a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG—oops) and the steam
powers turbines for a second round of generation; hence “combined cycle.”
IGCC uses the energy in coal with an efficiency of 3639% compared to 33%
in a pulverized coal (PC; sorry) plant. There are a few cutting-edge ultrasupercritical
PC plants in Europe, and the coal and utility industries say they can work
this technology up to 50% efficiency. IGCC is better than PC for most pollutants
except volatile organic compounds (VOCs; I give up), which contribute to
ozone and smog; I’ve seen conflicting statements about which technology
is better at curbing mercury pollution. Read
more...
Mountaintop
Removal Coal Mining Accelerates
by Jan Niehaus
Missouri
Sierran Jan Niehaus with Ronnie Workman at Kayford Mountain Mine.
Photo by Richard Sprengeler
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To Help Stop this Destruction:
- Comment
on rule changes by Oct 23, 2007
- Write
to support Clean Water Protection Act
Coal
issues are commanding a lot of our attention lately, from escalating concern
about greenhouse gases to the tragic deaths of coal miners in Utah’s Crandall
Canyon.
The
topic of mountaintop removal (MTR) coal mining is also gaining national
attention. Larry Gibson, a West Virginia activist opposed to MTR, was
featured as one of CNN’s “Heroes”
in a program that aired August 14, 18, and 19.
Completely
surrounded by MTR mines, Gibson clings to a tiny section of Kayford Mountain
that his family has owned for generations. Read
more...
The
Greening of Park University
by Roger Hershey
Roger Hershey (left) with author Michael McCloskey (right) |
Park University
is a growing entrepreneurial institution of higher education headquartered
on its historic campus in Parkville, Missouri, ten miles north of downtown
Kansas City. Park serves over 26,000 students who study on 43 Campus Centers
in 21 states and online through its School for Extended Learning.
Park was founded in 1875 and is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission
of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.
Since
adoption of its Master Facilities Plan May 5, 2006 Park has been committed
to an environmentally responsible future. One of the
goals of the plan is to promote a unique, beautiful campus setting,
preserve its natural beauty, and utilize planning principles that encourage
a healthy, attractive environment based upon sustainable design principles. The
design guidelines adopted pursuant to the plan require that new
buildings incorporate environmentally sensitive building materials. Park
has committed that the new student residences currently under construction
be built to the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in
Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver Standard. Read
more...
MO
Staff is Lean Machine
by Jim Turner, Missouri Chapter Chair
Our
Missouri Sierra Club staff is configured to efficiently represent our
membership across Missouri in 2008.
Our
Development Director Melissa Hope, based near Kansas City, is doing great
work in assisting Kansas City Power and Light to meet its obligations
for efficiency and renewable energy, as well as other conservation work,
and she is communicating throughout Missouri to gather resources for our
tasks. Read more...
Not
a Drop to Drink, by Ken Midkiff
reviewed by Chris Buhr
Petroleum-related costs are rising due to scarcity. Global temperatures
are rising. The declining supply of potable water in the United States
gets much less media attention than oil cost or rising temperatures. Yet,
it has the potential to be more calamitous than either of these issues.
In the book “Not a Drop to Drink,” Ken Midkiff ominously addresses the
present and future state of potable water in the U.S. Midkiff, a former
director of the Sierra Club in Missouri and former director of the Sierra
Club’s Clean Water Campaign, notes that the entire country faces a water
shortage because it has interfered with nature’s hydrologic cycle by over
consuming water. Read
more...
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Club
Member Fights Mountaintop Removal Mining
Profile - Jan Niehaus
by
Cheryl Hammond
The
Appalachian Treasure multimedia presentation came to St. Louis last September
with hideous and outrageous pictures of the everday tragedy of mountains
destroyed and streams filled for the sake of coal. Jan Niehaus was one
of that audience riveted to the photos and she took the message to heart.
Having already planned a vacation to the South, Jan and her vacation partner
changed plans to include a tour of mountaintop removal mining sites in
West Virginia. Returning from vacation, Jan volunteered a story for the
Sierrascape, the Eastern Missouri Group (EMG) newsletter, that has inspired
readers to become engaged in this struggle distant from their experiences
in St. Louis. Read more...
White
River Group News
by Cynthia Andre
It has been one
year since a small group of Sierra Club members in southwest Missouri got
together to start the process of reorganizing Missouri’s fifth group—the
White River Group (WRG)—which covers 21 counties in that region of the state.
It has been an exciting and very promising first year. In
addition to holding regular monthly meetings and programs in the fall
and spring, the group has built two important coalitions with others in
the Springfield community—one to work on increasing public awareness of
air quality and climate change and the other to support green building.
The Group also completed a demonstration rain garden at a Springfield
city park in partnership with another organization. Read
more...
The
Off Season in Jefferson City
by
Roy C. Hengerson
When the Missouri
State Legislature leaves town after the end on the Session in May, Jefferson
City becomes a quiet mid Missouri town. Tourists stream through on their
way to the Ozark attractions, including clear rivers, streams, lakes, and
historic buildings and sites. However, the legislative action does not completely
cease, but rather continues in small meeting rooms, large conferences, and
field trips around the state. Out of these activities comes the making of
legislative proposals for next year’s legislative session. Three such issues
are highlighted in this article.
Read more...
Missouri
Sierra Club’s Clean Air & Energy Campaign
by Melissa Hope, Missouri Chapter Development Director
Leading the charge against more coal burning power plants;
- Supporting solutions
for a clean energy future;
- &
leading the fight against global warming!
If
we all work together, we can take the kind of bold, visionary action needed
to help us fight global warming, end our dangerous addiction to fossil
fuels, and jumpstart the new energy economy. Our Clean Air & Energy
Campaign is energizing citizens across the state to demand smart energy
solutions. Read more...
Wanted..Wilderness
Writers
What
could be easier? Letters for wilderness. Your help is needed to advance
the effort to add more designated Wilderness to the Mark Twain NationalForest.
Missouri Sierrans are joining with other concerned citizens in thestate
to campaign for up to seven additional federally designated Wilderness
areas. These areas have long been recognized as having special features
and landscapes deserving of protection. Read
more...
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