Climate change low priority for Americans

According to the latest poll conducted by the Pew Research Center, climate change is at the bottom of the barrel of Americans’ top priorities for 2009—it came in last.

While climate change may be a low priority for Americans right now, it’s anything but for ACCCE. As we’ve outlined in our climate change principles, we advocate climate strategy that recognizes the importance of energy efficiency, conservation, and using our diverse suite of domestic energy sources to generate electricity. We’re working hard to bring the next generation of clean coal technologies to commercial scale, equipping today’s coal-based plants with technology that can safely capture and sequester carbon dioxide emissions.

Climate change is also an important issue for Congress and the EPA, as we’ve noted before.

There are plenty of issues worthy of national focus. Here at ACCCE, we’re working diligently to create long-term solutions for a healthier economy and a cleaner environment.

Comments

[Elizabeth - Illinois]

Whoever came up with the slogan "CLEAN COAL", must be too young to remember coal furnaces. Coal is NOT CLEAN!
Ask your Grandmother or better yet, your Great-Grandparents. They know all about how "clean" coal really is! :) I agree we must become independent of Middle East Oil. So, let's create new oil fields of our own, and become independent that way, instead.

[eddie hurley]

is every thing based on a lie they say (EPA) they are for clean environment so they run ours steel company's (etc) out of business. then we buy steel from largest polluters if you wont to be clean keep it here in this country so you can control it. (steel and coal is what made this country great)

[StormerF]

Why can it not be Climate change,as has happened in the past,like every few thousand years. The Earths spin becomes More oval from the sun instead of Round,causing the earth to have ice ages. If we have warmed the surface it may stave off an ice age. People are important but if the whole earth does not accept the idea of global warming and Obama does not allow Nuclear power,than we are at an empasse,and will continue to use fossil fuel and coal to power our needs.

[StormerF]

Clean Coal..comes from the use of scrubbers that clean the burnt fumes put out by the coal burning power plants.There are very expensive and the coal burners have fought against using them but they are only way to use coal in a cleaner way.

[Rachelle]

What kind of crap is this???
Sorry, no such thing as "clean coal." How about developing electricity from sources that do NOT burn hydrocarbons? Several other ways to produce steam to drive turbines. How about geo-thermal? Don't we have a "super volcano" located in this country that could supply all the electricity this counrty would need...I know so, but I guess the oil companies have got geo-thermal all taken care of, as they say in their ads.

[Bill Harris]

It's always amazing how "clean coal" experts nearly always avoid addressing the mercury in emissions issue.Especially lignite is the trashiest form of coal and has the most mercury
content of the various forms of coal.If you capture the mercury by forcing it through activated carbon then strip/collect the mercury from the AC you can sell the mercury to a distiller and add some new Ac to the now regenerated AC and reuse it.The mercury can be removed from the AC onsite by vacuum desorption with existing technology.NOW you have much less harmful emissions and you can eat eventually the fish from downwind lakes/ponds/rivers and cease worrying about harming pregnant mothers to be.

[Megan from ACCCE]

Elizabeth, Rachelle and Bill:

Believe it or not, the term 'clean coal' was actually coined by Congress in the 1980s to describe technologies that reduced SOx and NOx emissions. These technologies have made today's coal-based generating fleet 77 percent cleaner in terms of emissions currently regulated under existing Clean Air Act programs per unit of energy produced. Today, our challenge is not NOx and SOx, but rather carbon dioxide and reducing all greenhouse gas emissions to zero or near zero.

The fact of the matter is that all of our energy resources have their challenges. Currently, coal is our best option for baseload, or 'always-on' power, and thus, we just can't afford to cut it from our nation's energy mix. The next generation of clean coal technologies, including carbon capture and storage, is just one way we can use our most abundant, affordable energy resource in an environmentally-sound manner, while providing reliable, affordable energy to American homes and businesses.

[Jay Creighton]

How come The Pew Research Center never asks me for my opinion? Could it be because they try to skew their results by only calling folks who are likely to agree with their conservative anti-environmental agenda? If they called me, I would tell them that climate change is near the top of my list of concerns. I like energy too, I just don't want to sacrifice the planet to get it. Hey "clean coal" people, stop lying to us for your short term profits. Don't you have kids? Do you care about the world they'll grow up in? Get real.

[Coal's Not Clean!!]

Seems a waste of time to even write on this site, but it aggravated me to see a "Clean Coal" slogan on CNN. Lets see how long they leave negative comments on their site.

COAL IS NOT CLEAN... Yes, many coal plants now have scrubbers which make them 'less bad,' but lets get real... they are still bad.

"Clean Coal" is the result of a well funded campaign by the industry to 'green-wash' the coal industry at a time when people have a renewed interest in clean technologies like renewables.

Don't be so easily fooled America.