Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
So,...no subsidies for coal & nuclear, yet subsidies for wind & solar remain in place. At the same time, coal & nuclear are hamstrung by onerous govt regulations.
That hardly seems fair.
Why don't they strip everyone's regs & subsidies and see where the market goes?
So,...no subsidies for coal & nuclear, yet subsidies for wind & solar remain in place. At the same time, coal & nuclear are hamstrung by onerous govt regulations.
That hardly seems fair.
Why don't they strip everyone's regs & subsidies and see where the market goes?
I'm sure you are in favor of removing the insurance subsidy for nuclear and the permission for emissions by coal plants.
Why don't they strip everyone's regs & subsidies and see where the market goes?
Because the free market will destroy the air if it's cheap, because the people don't know what's best for them. Like a toddler eating candy for breakfast. Hate to say it, as I despise government control, but it is what it is.
Because the free market will destroy the air if it's cheap, because the people don't know what's best for them. Like a toddler eating candy for breakfast. Hate to say it, as I despise government control, but it is what it is.
I grew up in Chicago when there were no regs and everyone had coal burning furnaces. The air was fine. But some Goode-Two-Shoes saw an opportunity to win votes & power by telling us what was good for us, and naive, self-sanctimonious, highly (really partially) educated voters agreed that we peons were too stupid to know better and the die was cast for govt control of our lives.
If regs were dismissed, coal would not once again become a dominant source for home heating: it still takes active work by the home owner to keep the furnace stoked, and it can't be left unattended from day to day, so home owners would still opt for the more convenient NG or propane.
If regs for nuclear were relaxed, new plants would be built more quickly and for much less cost. Not only the safest format for energy production, they are also the most environmentally friendly-- another point ignored by TreeHuggers whose true motive is a quest for power, not to save the environment.
There are no restrictions on burning coal as a home heating fuel. The last company that tried to build nuclear power plants in this country has gone bust. The plant owner just took a $1.4B loss on the plant.
I grew up in Chicago when there were no regs and everyone had coal burning furnaces. The air was fine. But some Goode-Two-Shoes saw an opportunity to win votes & power by telling us what was good for us, and naive, self-sanctimonious, highly (really partially) educated voters agreed that we peons were too stupid to know better and the die was cast for govt control of our lives.
If regs were dismissed, coal would not once again become a dominant source for home heating: it still takes active work by the home owner to keep the furnace stoked, and it can't be left unattended from day to day, so home owners would still opt for the more convenient NG or propane.
If regs for nuclear were relaxed, new plants would be built more quickly and for much less cost. Not only the safest format for energy production, they are also the most environmentally friendly-- another point ignored by TreeHuggers whose true motive is a quest for power, not to save the environment.
First, are you sure the air was ok?
Second, are you sure the wind didn't blow it away to ruin some other poor town's quality of life?
I'm not totally for nonsense economy-destroying over-regulation, and I'm not against nuclear. But I am saying that a totally free market will not solve the public's inability (or lack of desire) to sacrifice cost and convenience for environment quality.
If regs were dismissed, coal would not once again become a dominant source for home heating: it still takes active work by the home owner to keep the furnace stoked, and it can't be left unattended from day to day, so home owners would still opt for the more convenient NG or propane.
There is no regulations I'm aware of that bans burning coal anywhere for home heating. There may be some local laws I'm unaware of but I haven't heard of any. The dominant coal for home heating was and is anthracite. There is nothing to complain about, even if such a law existed nobody would know the difference...
The height of anthracite production/use was in the 1920's and there was slow decline until the 80's. Production has Flat lined and has even rebounded some since. That decline was brought on primarily by oil. The primary customer for anthracite is semi rural or rural. Currently piped natural gas is only marginally more expensive locally or is going to be cheaper the further you get away from Northeastern Pennsylvania so it's very difficult to justify coal if you have access to gas.
FYI, an auger fed coal boiler setup correctly can go about 3 days in weather like this. The coal feed can be 100% automated, the problem is the capacity for the ash. That can be addressed if you wanted to, augers for example that would run on timer to remove ash to metal cans outside were typical setup for large buildings and/or wealthy households.
Coal became an insignificant residential heating source because few people want it in their home. I'm sure there are some people left who still burn cow chips for heat. Don't mistake that for an important energy issue.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
