<![CDATA[Grist - Comment Feed for Who do we repay for the pollution from which we have benefitted?]]> Grist Comment Feed en Comment #1 by Larryg http://www.grist.org/article/Q.-Whats-an-environmental-externality/ Sat, 03 Jan 2009 10:50:23 -0800 http://www.grist.org/article/Q.-Whats-an-environmental-externality/1 Externalities and Slurry

One thing about the disaster is the thought that would we not expect virtually all coal plants like this one to also have a similar amount of waste?

And if so... what do they do with it?

and do they do something different enough with it such that they don't have the problems that this plant had?

there are also other externalities besides this - and besides greenhouse gases - mercury - which is poisoning our rivers and the critters that live in them.

I don't know what the answer is but folks in Europe and California use about 1/2 the electricity per capita and many other US States do and what that means is that those folks are generating about 1/2 as much externalities as those who use twice as much electricity.

LarryG


]]> Externalities and Slurry

One thing about the disaster is the thought that would we not expect virtually all coal plants like this one to also have a similar amount of waste?

And if so... what do they do with it?

and do they do something different enough with it such that they don't have the problems that this plant had?

there are also other externalities besides this - and besides greenhouse gases - mercury - which is poisoning our rivers and the critters that live in them.

I don't know what the answer is but folks in Europe and California use about 1/2 the electricity per capita and many other US States do and what that means is that those folks are generating about 1/2 as much externalities as those who use twice as much electricity.

LarryG


]]> Comment #2 by hapa http://www.grist.org/article/Q.-Whats-an-environmental-externality/ Sat, 03 Jan 2009 13:37:50 -0800 http://www.grist.org/article/Q.-Whats-an-environmental-externality/2 debts

i think it's better to ask what we need to do. we don't need the pounds of flesh to be associated with reparations to use the money on remediation and turning the flow of trash into a cemradle-to-cradle operation?

]]> debts

i think it's better to ask what we need to do. we don't need the pounds of flesh to be associated with reparations to use the money on remediation and turning the flow of trash into a cemradle-to-cradle operation?

]]> Comment #3 by endependence http://www.grist.org/article/Q.-Whats-an-environmental-externality/ Sun, 04 Jan 2009 09:18:45 -0800 http://www.grist.org/article/Q.-Whats-an-environmental-externality/3 Energy externalities are different going forward

Okay, the comparison to the bakery is good for illustration of the broad concept of externalities, but it is important to recognize that our energy challenge externalities are different now.

Now we know about the coal ash, carbon dioxide, mercury, etc. generated by coal fired plants and we are still reluctant to do everything possible to move toward non-polluting power sources.  

We continue to think of alternative energy as "expensive".  It is only expensive compared to the cheap and deadly stuff we have become addicted to.

In the long run, alternative energy will work out to be much better for our economic security, for our national security and for our environment.  

We can demand a move toward endependence, energy independence that ends dependence on polluting fuels.  

Find out more at http://endependence.info

]]> Energy externalities are different going forward

Okay, the comparison to the bakery is good for illustration of the broad concept of externalities, but it is important to recognize that our energy challenge externalities are different now.

Now we know about the coal ash, carbon dioxide, mercury, etc. generated by coal fired plants and we are still reluctant to do everything possible to move toward non-polluting power sources.  

We continue to think of alternative energy as "expensive".  It is only expensive compared to the cheap and deadly stuff we have become addicted to.

In the long run, alternative energy will work out to be much better for our economic security, for our national security and for our environment.  

We can demand a move toward endependence, energy independence that ends dependence on polluting fuels.  

Find out more at http://endependence.info

]]>