Cutting CO2 Emissions While Still Using Coal
By E. Calvin Beisner, Ph.D.
Switching to other fuels isn’t the only way to reduce CO2 emissions. The New York Times reported May 11 that China’s adoption of high-tech coal-fired generating plants increases their efficiency in extracting energy from coal by 18% to 39%, allowing them to generate that much more electricity from the same amount of coal without raising CO2 emissions.
With alternative fuel technologies still having a tough time competing with fossil fuels on price, such technologies may be a more promising way of addressing fears of global warming—whether the fears are justified or not.