Clean Energy - Wind vs Coal

Complete video at: http://fora.tv/2009/04/28/Clean_Coal_Myth_or_Reality

Sierra Club's Bruce Nilles argues for complete replacement of outdated coal power plants while 'clean coal' advocates Joe Lucas and Ray Lane challenge him, arguing that wind and coal are complimentary. "There's no such thing as a perfect energy source," says Lucas.

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Is clean coal hope for the future, or just misleading marketing jargon? Panelists weigh in on the possibilities and opportunities.

Coal-fired power plants are the largest U.S. emitters of CO2 and human-generated mercury, yet our nation is poised to build many new coal plants in the future. Panelists discuss new technologies for carbon capture and storage and IGCC, and the implications of energy policy decisions on the health of our economy and our planet. - Commonwealth Club of California

Bruce Nilles joined the Sierra Club in 2002 and currently directs its National Coal Campaign, the largest component of Sierra Club's new Climate Recovery Campaign. The national coal campaign is working to reduce America's over reliance on coal, slash coal's contribution to global warming and other pollution woes, end destructive mining, and secure massive investments in clean energy alternatives. Bruce previously worked as a staff attorney for Earthjustice's San Francisco office, and during the Clinton Administration as Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for the U.S. Department of Justice's Environment and Natural Resources Division in Washington D.C. He received his J.D. and B.S. degrees from the University of Wisconsin.

Ray Lane is a Managing Partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, focused on helping entrepreneurs with technological and market insight, organizational development, team building, selling and managing growth. Since joining KPCB, Ray has sponsored several investments for the firm in enterprise and consumer technology, as well as clean and alternative energy. These companies include Ausra (solar concentrator), GreatPoint Energy (coal to gas conversion), Fisker Automotive (plug-in hybrid car), Th!nk NA (electric car), Luca Technologies (biologically enhanced gas recovery from fossilized hydrocarbons), Xsigo Systems (virtual I/O switch for datacenters), SpikeSource (open source platform for integration and testing), MEVIO (social media network), Virsa (compliance for large enterprises) and Elance (marketplace for services). He also serves on the board of Quest Software.

Joe Lucas is the Vice President of the Americans for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE).

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[ArkeAngelRevonulet]

I live in TN.I love how the coal mess in east TN doesn't get much air/news time! I will say it plainly. F$#k Coal..I wonder if any of these coal loving smuks lives near a coal plant or would they live near one and drink the water? I think not! Clean coal my arse LOL!

[ubuibiok]

Cut and kill all the Brakes that the Coal companies and Power companies are getting and in 2 month's the power companies will get off there asses.......

[YoungIvyScholar]

Let's keep in mind that windmills use coal as a backup when there's no wind which is usually about 75% of the time. And coal is typically worse than oil.

[GalaxyStar4]

@mike121223

No kidding. Me too!

[GalaxyStar4]

The fat idoit in the middle is a moron.

[captinseperoth]

If you, as an average American, got all your electricity from nuclear plants, you'd generate one kilogram of nuclear waste during your lifetime, enough to fit in a soda can. If you got all your electricity from coal, you'd generate almost 70 tons of waste. Coal plants emit far more radioactive materials than nuclear plants do;

each year a 1,000-megawatt coal plant disperses about 27 metric tons of uranium, thorium and other radioactive substances.

[GaunletofDestruction]

I love watching these types of videos just to see the people fight!

[mike121223]

i will build the damn wind farms for the people!

[510purple]

well why dont they fund wind energy. wind energy is a renewable resource which means its gonna be around forever. also wind energy has no environmental impact. they dont think about it but these big coal burning companies wont exist when the ecosystem they live in is destroyed....

[GaunletofDestruction]

Coal is our cheapest form of electricity production and will increase in the future not the opposite. If "we" expect to get off of foreign oil then we need clean coal, since we have so much of it. It would be foolish of America to ignore building more coal plants with carbon sequestration technology. It is part of the solution for us to get off of foreign oil and with multiple other energy sources will be our best bet.

[ToxicBrainSyndrome]

Wind energy. If we took 1 tillion dollars the cost of the wars in you know where. 1 trillion/4 million (estimated cost of scale for a commercial one wind turbine) would net 25 billion wind turbines. One wind turbine can generate 2.5MWh electricity. 2.5MWh can power 350 homes in a northern cold state. 25 billion X 250 homes? I think that pretty much covers the US needs for power. Just having fun here, don't shoot the messenger.

[hydra8888]

There are many many wind energy companies in the United States. google Green-e