Published: August 19, 2008 08:23 am      

League wants halt on coal power

The national and local chapters of the League of Women Voters have called for a 10-year moratorium on new coal-fired power plants that possibly could clean energy solutions both locally and nationally.

A coal-fired power plant is a conventional power plant that burns pulverized coal to produce steam which, in turn, powers a turbine to produce electricity, according to the Sierra Club, an American environmental organization found in California in 1892.

“Central Kentuckians suffer some of the worst air quality in the nation due to pollution from coal-fired power plants and inefficient use of the electricity we get from these facility,” said Elizabeth Crowe, president of the League of Women Voters of Berea and Madison County.

“Dirty air results in poor health, whereas clean energy from renewable sources like solar and wind, plus using electricity more efficiently in the first place, preserve our health and the environment, and can spur economic development as well,” she said.

Disappearing glaciers, rising sea levels, severe heat waves, droughts, hurricanes, floods and wildfires are all signs of global warming, according to the official nine-page moratorium of the national league.

“Global warming is happening now,” said national League President Mary G. Wilson. “If we wait for federal action from our congressional leaders, it will be too late. We must take immediate and aggressive action to halt climate change.”

Coal produces more carbon dioxide per kilowatt hour of electricity than any other fuel, the moratorium states.

“Once built, a coal-fired electric power plant will operate for decades, pumping hundreds of millions of tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere over its lifetime,” the report states.

The moratorium documentation addresses the question that many skeptics may have, which is whether or not renewable resources can deliver enough energy to replace all the power plants American needs.

“Given appropriate policy and financial support at all governmental levels, renewable energy resources, energy conservation and improvements in efficiency could fill most of the gap,” the report states.

It is well-known through the nation that coal is one of the less-costly forms of energy, but the League of Women Voters encourage people to consider the “external” costs of coal use that includes: health impacts, premature death, environmentally destructive mining and the damage cause by climate change.

“The league’s position on climate change, and now the call for a moratorium on new coal-fired power plants, affords us a great opportunity to pursue clean energy here in our communities,” said Cecile Schubert, local League vice president.

More information about the League of Women Voter’s moratorium can be found at www.lwvbmc.iclub.org.

Ronica Shannon can be reached at rshannon@richmondregister.com or 623-1669, Ext. 234.