Electricity should be outlawed.
In an April 2 Augusta Chronicle news article, a Georgia Environmental Protection Division environmental regulator said that the proposed coal-fired power plant for Washington County is unlikely to affect air quality in Richmond County.
The regulator must not have taken into account that the prevailing winds are from west to east, and that every year the proposed plant would put almost 1,000 tons of soot into the air, and that most of the soot will settle to the east of Washington County.
Since Richmond County is about 70 miles east of Washington County it seems to me that the coal-fired power plant is highly likely to increase dirty air in Richmond County. Jefferson County, which joins Washington County to the east, surely will be affected by the pollution from the dirty coal-fired plant -- even to the extent that those landowners who follow good forest-management practices and prescribe burn their lands for timber and wildlife production will not be permitted to burn, or their burning will be constrained because of the increased air pollution from Plant Washington's emissions.
More than 90 percent of the electricity generated by the plant will go to metro Atlanta. They can't build the plant near Atlanta because, according to the EPD, the air pollution the plant would emit would endanger the lives of the people living in the metro area.
So hang out the job carrot, build in rural Georgia and pollute our air and fill our rivers and streams with toxic mercury.
Georgia is currently a surplus producer of electricity. We sell electricity to other states. Why not focus on making Georgia a more energy-efficient state and not build more dirty coal-fired power plants that will be polluting our air and water for 40 to 50 years?
Thomas Black
Louisville
Comments
Electricity should be outlawed.
they should be free to pollute if they want, this is america damn it! it's our national heritage.
I'll bet Thomas Black enjoys his air conditioning while he sits in front of his TV eating food cooked in his microwave while his clothes dry in the dryer. What a whiner he is!
This is the typical environmental cr*p. They don't want nuclear plants, they don't want coal fired plants, they don't want oil and gas, they don't want people to fire places (unless your Al Gore and trade cabon credits). We are supposed to live in caves bake in the summer, freeze in the winter and not work because manufacturing jobs and most productive jobs require energy.
Thomas, Atlanta has poor air quality already because of the number of people living in the area. Atlanta requires auto inspections to keep the air pollution down. Moving the plant to an area with good air quality seems like the smart thing to do. Besides, under Obama if we are going to share the wealth, maybe we should share some other things to.....
In general I think the "Air Quality" folks are full of crap anyway. More people's lives are made miserable and their lives shortened by pollens from trees and grass than power plants. So let's cut down all of the trees and kill all of the grass. But in this case the writer makes a good point. Why build a plant that will "pollute" several "clean" counties to provide power to Atlanta? In a few years the "Air Quality" nuts will be back to those clean counties to tell them they are now polluted and they have to have vehicle inspections, burn bans, some weired, expensive, less efficient formulation of gasoline for their cars, etc. I got it, let's give GA Power another "in advance" rate increase and make them build a nuclear plant instead.
I agree that Washington country should not have to be polluted for the sake of atlanta. Atlanta is a cess pool that needs to learn to be self-sustaining. Trying to steal water from other states and other counties because they were to short sighted to build their infrastructure is their own problem. Not the rest of Georgia's. Heck do us all a favor and let it burn again!!!!
mr. max: why would you cut down all of the trees and plants that provide oxygen derived from carbon dioxide? great solution, was that all you? why don't you instead try ingesting local bee-gathered pollen to help build internal anti-bodies to the pollen to reduce the inflammatory and histamine response to breathing the pollen? or you could keep poisoning yourself with help from big pharma. another great solution. it's great that we live in a country where we are free to chose the wrong course of action constantly. patriciathomas2012!
So, build a nuclear power plant instead. BTW, where is General Sherman when we need him?
Why build a coal plant? Build a nuclear plant!
The last thing Augusta needs is more air pollution; it's one of the biggest negatives about the area.
You are right. Saying that Atlanta cannot handle more pollution admits that EPA knows that the coal plant is going to be very polluting. "The Other Georgia" should not have to be more polluted to produce electricity for Atlanta. A few jobs dangled in front of Washington County are not enough to compensate for the additional carbon in the air and mercury in the water. Large land owners may get some money for the pine trees that they already have planted and the coal company will claim that they are "environmentally friendly."
Its not just the air, its the ground as well. Look at any coal fired power plant (there's 1 north of Atlanta) with Google Earth. The ground around them is black and the sludge ponds are full of residual "clean coal" byproducts.
It's pretty obvious that Augusta and the CSRA have enough pollution as it is. And it's pretty obvious that the PEOPLE need to start doing something about it. WHAT isn't obvious is the capacity to "give a damn" in the resident population. We here in the CSRA are already suffering 13-15 million pounds of Volatile Organic Compounds being dumped into the environment we live in already. Causing ground-level-ozone, otherwise known as "SMOG", which causes a host of respiratory related problems in healthy people and much worse for those already suffering from respiratory diseases. I guess the best thing to do is for all of the people of the CSRA to move out and let the polluters and their employees have the place. Since we obviously don't have sense enough to come together and do anything tangible to reduce our exposure to this pollution and the measly employers who generate all of it. Less tan 2% of the population of the CSRA works at these plants that are responsible for 90% of the pollution. I believe it's time for a change, CHANGE WE CAN BREATHE IN !!!
GG's - Take your comedy act on the road. It's played out here.
PTHS.....at least you're consistent....just like the Corps Of Engineers.
I think this guy is blowing smoke somewhere too
Ban the electron. Freedom for all.
It would be to much to ask that energy be derived from "clean" sources I guess. As long as it's cheap and or free, just go with the flow. Sounds like some DEMs I've heard.......
Solar is free once it has been installed. Ordinary people can even sell electricity. That is why people making money from coal and the people being paid off by them do not want solar and wind to be considered. Geogia has more hours of sunlight than many places that are using solar completely. Solar technology is getting better and cheaper by the day. When it gets cheap enough to compete with coal, "the other Georgia" will be stuck paying for expensive dirty coal plants built to produce electricity mainly for other people that do not work as well.
Looking at the swine flu news, I am reminded of the coal pollution situation in "the other Georgia." American corporations built "hog parlors" in rural Mexico that polluted. This may or may not be the source of swine flu, but that is implicated. However, the swine flu has spread back to America. No borders will stop the poluted air and water from coal pollution to stay in the rural areas where plants are being built. Every Georgian who breathes and eats would benefit their health by fighting this.
The Augusta Chronicle ©2012. All Rights Reserved.
