Coal Plants...? (Knoxville: sales, insurance, buy)

[maraplus]

This is in the news....What are your thoughts?
I,for one, am worried. I've cut and paste from an article -just to give an overview.

"The rewriting of air-quality rules would ease the way for the construction of 33 coal-fired power plants within 186 miles of 10 national parks, including Great Smokey Mountains, left, according to the National Parks Conservation Association." - "The Bush administration is on the verge of implementing new air quality rules that will make it easier to build power plants near national parks and wilderness areas, according to rank-and-file agency scientists and park managers who oppose the plan.

The new regulations, which are likely to be finalized this summer, rewrite a provision of the Clean Air Act that applies to "Class 1 areas," federal lands that currently have the highest level of protection under the law..."
"Group: Rule would pave way for coal plants
On Thursday, the National Parks Conservation Association, an advocacy group, issued a report estimating that the rule would ease the way for the construction of 33 new coal-fired power plants within 186 miles of 10 national parks. In each of the next 50 years, the report concludes, the new plants would emit a total of 122 million tons of carbon dioxide, 79,000 tons of sulfur dioxide, 52,000 tons of nitrogen oxides, and 4,000 pounds of toxic mercury into the air over and around the Great Smoky Mountains, Zion and eight other national parks. "

[hiknapster]

There is a coal-fired plant not too far from me. It is definitely less than 186 miles from the GSMNP.

TVA: Bull Run Fossil Plant

Here's a map of all TVA plants.

TVA: Dams and Power Plants

[maraplus]

I know there are many power plants already in East Tn....I guess my point is that the last thing that is needed are 'new air quality rules" that will make it even easier for more plants to be built.

[hiknapster]

I should have expanded my post.

I understand the point you are making. But if that is a concern of yours then know that there is already bad air quality in the Knoxville area.

[k350]

People need power, all this population growth does not come without consequence.

No one wants a power plant in their backyard, problem is that there is hardly any place that is not someone's backyard. So in the end new power plants will be pushed closer to national parks and eventually be slicing into parks zones just as development and the timber industry has been doing.

The problem will be even more profound as population growth explodes over the next few decades and more problems will arise that will make new power plants nil in comparison.

[JMT]

Originally Posted by k350

People need power, all this population growth does not come without consequence.

No one wants a power plant in their backyard, problem is that there is hardly any place that is not someone's backyard. So in the end new power plants will be pushed closer to national parks and eventually be slicing into parks zones just as development and the timber industry has been doing.

The problem will be even more profound as population growth explodes over the next few decades and more problems will arise that will make new power plants nil in comparison.

I've always found it interesting that many of those in our country who complain that the price of fuel is extremely high also don't want to do much to help us generate cheap electricity. While it would be nice if all of our electricity came from solar power, the reality is that industry needs electricity, a lot of it, and CHEAP electricity. And for now, the cheapest is coal.

If we want to be competitive with China (which also uses coal for cheap electricity) we need to make it EASIER and cheaper for industry to set up shop here, not harder and more expensive.

[k350]

Despite all its problems, oil, coal and gas are still the cheapest and most easily obtained forms of energy.

Trying to conserve sometimes cost just as much or even more than just using the energy as is. Many examples can be found throughout the country of utilities raising rates because of decreased consumption of things like electricity and water. Things like that remove any motivation for people to conserve anything.

I went to look into trading my explorer in on something more fuel efficient as I am a bit of an ecology junkie. I had the explorer for a job I use to have that I needed to transport around the south east sensitive electronics. Anyway, cost factors still made it less profitable for me to trade my explorer in than to just keep it. I figured fuel would have to be at the $5 a gallon range for it to benefit me to trade my explorer in on something.

Reasons are a few but the biggest cost set back is the sales tax on the new car. Also when looking at a camry I was interested in, my insurance would have jumped a bit also from the $400 a year I pay now to almost $600 for the camry.

That is all fine and all if the camry or any other thing got great fuel mileage, but as is my explorer gets 21mpg on the highway and 17mpg in the city, the camry was only rated for 26mpg on the highway, 5 mpg is not much to get excited about.

I would love a hybrid but the costs are too much right now, the few thousand dollars more a hybrid cost over a standard model can buy a lot of fuel.

That is just cars, nevermind the expense with solar panels and wind mills.