TXU's Texas Coal Rush + Marc Gunther

I've blogged about this monstrous issue in the past, but I found Marc Gunther's article in Fortune Magazine to be a great explication of the situation.  When you stop to think about it, everyone in the world is coming out to oppose these plants.  The entire discussion gets confused with rhetoric of clean coal versus dirty coal, the benefits of carbon offsetting, and increases in demand with insufficient supply. 

If you let TXU frame the debate, you've already lost.  Start asking your own questions and stop believing everything they say. 

Case in point:  Q for TXU:  What are you going to do about all the mercury pollution that increases the risk of reduced brain function and developmental problems in about 630,000 children each year (at a societal cost of $8.7 billion)?  TXU Kim Morgan replies, "Not a problem...TXU's new plants will comply with the EPA's mercury rules."  Really?  How smug.  How about this: forget compliance, we don't want mercury damaging our society.  This is an externality that needs to be figured into the so called cheap price of coal energy.

Price of Coal:
You see, Americans over-consume big-time.  We use way too much energy, but if we constructed our homes differently, used different technology, and took a pro-active step here and there, we could conserve energy without changing the way we live life.  With coal, it's cheap energy, but what about the damage it does, which is not reflected in the price?  What about the mercury pollution?  What about the carbon emissions?  What about the air pollution and smog?  TXU doesn't pay for that.  We do as a society. 

What to do:
It's going to take a multi-faceted approach and we won't be able to rely on TXU to deliver.  Look at California.  They've been able to curtail energy demand increases with an active community.  They have solar panel initiatives, wind energy purchasing, extreme green building projects, etc.  As a state, they are doing things to use less energy.  We need to do the same.  And if we find that the true cost of coal (with the cheap energy + birth defects + pollution + carbon emissions) is more expensive than renewable energy, conservation, thermal energy storage, and innovation, we should innovate and DECIDE our own energy future. This is patriotic.  This creates energy independence.  This creates jobs for Americans.  This is the American Dream.