<![CDATA[Grist - Comment Feed for Congressional leaders call for capitol plant to can coal days before big protest]]> Grist Comment Feed en Comment #1 by Erik Hoffner http://www.grist.org/article/Cleaner-greener-Power-to-the-people/ Thu, 26 Feb 2009 06:32:59 -0800 http://www.grist.org/article/Cleaner-greener-Power-to-the-people/1 grassroots

Go go grassroots. Great to see the pols listening to the boots on the ground, and acting even before the demo happens. McKibben's right, of course, this one plant is just a symbol, and one that already burns more gas than coal, if memory serves. It's a national front that needs to be opened against coal plants.

We're having a demo here in western Mass on March 1 at the Mt Tom coal burner, which gets lots of the black stuff from MTR...

Erik

The Orion Grassroots Network: supporting grassroots groups working for conservation, justice, & more

]]> grassroots

Go go grassroots. Great to see the pols listening to the boots on the ground, and acting even before the demo happens. McKibben's right, of course, this one plant is just a symbol, and one that already burns more gas than coal, if memory serves. It's a national front that needs to be opened against coal plants.

We're having a demo here in western Mass on March 1 at the Mt Tom coal burner, which gets lots of the black stuff from MTR...

Erik

The Orion Grassroots Network: supporting grassroots groups working for conservation, justice, & more

]]> Comment #2 by amazingdrx http://www.grist.org/article/Cleaner-greener-Power-to-the-people/ Thu, 26 Feb 2009 14:48:13 -0800 http://www.grist.org/article/Cleaner-greener-Power-to-the-people/2 Coopted?

Well protestors can demand that solid oxide fuel cell cogeneration be installed instead of combustion based boilers.  That would turn 50% of the energy in the gas to electricty to offset Capitol power use, which mainly comes from coal burned elsewhere now.

Then the other 50% left over could heat the Capitol.  

Better yet use 70% efficient solid oxide fuel cell/turbine cogeneration as backup for ground source heating/cooling powered by  rooftop solar cogeneration.

Distributed smart grid renewable power and conservation with natural gas backup?  Well you could do even better, install a biodigestor for food waste and garbage and grass clipplings and leaves and biogas would substitute for the natural gas.  Make the Capitol a poster child for the new energy economy.

A self energy supporting building with emergency backup and a net energy export to the grid.  And as a btproduct, organic fertilizer for the grounds and maybe a few community gardens?  That saves BIG GHG right in the soil.

Scrap that old heating plant.

Now how do you fit this on a sign that is protest ready?  Hehey.

http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog John Schneider, Northern Wisconsin

]]> Coopted?

Well protestors can demand that solid oxide fuel cell cogeneration be installed instead of combustion based boilers.  That would turn 50% of the energy in the gas to electricty to offset Capitol power use, which mainly comes from coal burned elsewhere now.

Then the other 50% left over could heat the Capitol.  

Better yet use 70% efficient solid oxide fuel cell/turbine cogeneration as backup for ground source heating/cooling powered by  rooftop solar cogeneration.

Distributed smart grid renewable power and conservation with natural gas backup?  Well you could do even better, install a biodigestor for food waste and garbage and grass clipplings and leaves and biogas would substitute for the natural gas.  Make the Capitol a poster child for the new energy economy.

A self energy supporting building with emergency backup and a net energy export to the grid.  And as a btproduct, organic fertilizer for the grounds and maybe a few community gardens?  That saves BIG GHG right in the soil.

Scrap that old heating plant.

Now how do you fit this on a sign that is protest ready?  Hehey.

http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog John Schneider, Northern Wisconsin

]]> Comment #3 by rraimo http://www.grist.org/article/Cleaner-greener-Power-to-the-people/ Thu, 26 Feb 2009 23:06:15 -0800 http://www.grist.org/article/Cleaner-greener-Power-to-the-people/3 ..reduce the cost of..transporting coal

Coincidentally enough, 13 coal cars on a CSX train derailed in Bowie, Maryland last night, not far from DC.  With the rains we are expecting in a couple of hours, this could turn into a real mess. I was surprised to hear the local news treating it as the potential environmental problem that it is, using words like toxic, pollutant, chemical compounds and heavy metals.  

]]> ..reduce the cost of..transporting coal

Coincidentally enough, 13 coal cars on a CSX train derailed in Bowie, Maryland last night, not far from DC.  With the rains we are expecting in a couple of hours, this could turn into a real mess. I was surprised to hear the local news treating it as the potential environmental problem that it is, using words like toxic, pollutant, chemical compounds and heavy metals.  

]]> Comment #4 by marissa http://www.grist.org/article/Cleaner-greener-Power-to-the-people/ Tue, 03 Mar 2009 03:41:46 -0800 http://www.grist.org/article/Cleaner-greener-Power-to-the-people/4 Is this the best?

I'm having a hard time being super excited about this.  YES it's great they are moving away from coal, but natural gas is not the best.  I guess with anything you have downsides, but we could do better.  One big downside of natural gas- it produces CO2.

Questions that come up-
Where are they getting the natural gas?
Are we going to start more environmental destruction to find more n.gas? transportation/storage?

Maybe i'm missing something. . .

]]> Is this the best?

I'm having a hard time being super excited about this.  YES it's great they are moving away from coal, but natural gas is not the best.  I guess with anything you have downsides, but we could do better.  One big downside of natural gas- it produces CO2.

Questions that come up-
Where are they getting the natural gas?
Are we going to start more environmental destruction to find more n.gas? transportation/storage?

Maybe i'm missing something. . .

]]>