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Annotated Bibliography Meeting Florida’s Energy Demands through Coal: “Clean technology” or not, the dilemma faced with using dirty energy
Books 1. Diesendorf, Mark (2006). Can Geosequestration Save the Coal Industry? In Transforming Power: Energy, Environment, and Society in Conflict. (Vol. 9, pp.221-246). New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers. 2. Geller, H. (2003). Energy Revolution. Washington, Island Press. The current dilemma in the United States for reducing fossil fuel combustion and subsequent greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) is not entirely through technological achievements. According to Geller, “The bigger challenge” is to break down the walls that restrict the demand and need for “energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies”. There must be a “market transformation” that utilizes ‘green energy’ technologies is subsided through taxes on fossil fuels. The problem lies in the Bush Administrations “business-as-usual” approach to U.S. energy needs. It comes too no surprise that his administration has “proposed billions of dollars in new subsides for the fossil fuel and nuclear industries, while rolling back environmental and safety regulations to facilitate” these sources. Geller believes the greatest problem with changes to U.S. energy is the power these industries have. Their influence on policies within the Bush Administration and in Washington comes to no surprise due to their “presence and sheer size”, not to mention their large contributions to “the Bush-Cheney campaign as well as the campaigns of many members of Congress”. Geller is a highly respected and has advised energy companies and government organizations. He was on an advisory committee several times in legislating energy policies such as the National Appliance Energy Conservation Act of 1987 and the Energy Policy Act of 1992. He was awarded the 1998 Leo Szilard Award for Physics. The publisher, Island Press is a leading publicizing agency that specializes that challenges environmental issues and facilitates providing reliable and peer-reviewed sources of information. They are funded by an NGO, Center for Resources Economics and uphold the same ethics as Island Press. This source will be a valuable asset to proving key points on why the U.S. cannot meet world demands for lowering carbon levels and other GHG. It states clear political and industry “barriers” that are discussed in other books and article as well. 3. Imboden, D., and C. Jaeger (1999). Towards a Sustainable Energy Future. In Energy: The Next Fifty Years. (pp. 63-94). Paris: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development: 4. Pring, G. (2001). The United States Perspective. In P.D. Cameron, & D. Zillman (Eds.), Kyoto: From Principles to Practice. (pp. 185-222). The Hague, Kluwer Law International. This resource will provide historical and current U.S. reactions to the Kyoto Protocol from visualization to global implementation. He specifically looks at the “U.S. policies, programs, politics, laws, and responses to “multilateral efforts”. The author discusses the Clinton Administrations verbal commitments and it’s failure to rally any interests into the Kyoto Protocol’s (KP) initiatives. The U.S. energy sector, which includes fossil fuel lobbyists, utilities, and energy consuming industries, plays a major role discussion making within the Washington. Despite the Initiative’s goal for the a 9% reduction rate of carbon-dioxide emissions by 2000, “DOE stated that it has risen by 10%! In 1999, the EPA only received half of their appointed government funding “it had requested for it’s climate change programs”. To finalized the U.S. stance on KP, The Bush Administration completely withdrew all efforts due to it’s “economic situation” and energy infrastructure. It is well known that countries within the EU believe differently about tackling GHG emissions. The publisher resides in The Hauge, Netherlands, where the U.S. promptly announced his disagreement’ this may amplify negative bias in this book. However, it does provide a wealth of information regarding policy and law about the KP from it’s envisions to global implementation.
5. Prugh, T., C. Flavin, & J. Sawin (2005). Changing the Oil Economy. In State of the World 2005: Redefining Global Security. Washington: Worldwatch Institute. 6. Reece, E. (2006). Lost Mountain: A Year in the Vanishing Wilderness. New York, Penguin Group. Technological advances in mining techniques allow miners the capacity to flatten entire mountains. Political loopholes and greed for wealth have turned the eastern Kentucky and West Virginia Appalachian Mountains into a threatened biome. In Erik Reece’s book, Lost Mountain, he writes about the people who live there and the environmental atrocities that strip mining has done to the region. We live in a time where coal is the renewed source for ‘cheap energy’ and if society doesn’t put a stop to the destruction, the consequences to society and the environment within the region may be severe. The author grew up in the mountains and is an environmentalist at heart. He met with community members, environmental activists, and scientists to obtain a detailed understanding of the problems faced within the region. Mr. Reece instructs at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, and his writings have been published within Harper’s, Orion, and the Oxford American. His book The Lost Mountain was awarded the for “distinguished environmental journalism”. His book educates the reader about the horrific events taking place within the Appalachian Mountains, and his resentment against the coal industry increases with each chapter, because he witnessed it first hand. 7. Victor, G. (2001). The Collapse of the Kyoto Protocol and the Struggle to Slow Global Warming. Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press.
Primary Literature and Popular Press 1. Babbitt, C.W., A.S. Lindner (2005). A life cycle inventory of coal used for electricity production in Florida. Journal of Cleaner Production, 13. Within the literature by C.W. Babbitt and A.S. Linder (2005). Titled "A life cycle inventory of coal used for electricity production in Florida", it was published by the Journal of Cleaner Production. Despite the hype toward 'clean coal' technologies for generating commercial electricity, little attention is paid to the emissions during coal removal, processing, and disposal. This article presents a study the "cradle-to grave" (Linder & Babbitt 2005) focus of these emissions. The use of coal for electricity in the United States accounts for a great portion of the energy demands. It has been estimated that almost a billion metric tons of coal is used throughout electrical energy plants throughout the nation (Linder & Babbitt 2005). With declining oil reserves and political instabilities in the Middle East, the U.S. has focused it's attention to the abundant coal reserves within it's borders. The cost of coal extraction and processing is cheap so the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is dedicated to "ensuring that it plays an integral role in wise decisions concerning future U.S. energy needs" (Linder and Babbitt 2005). The authors studied four sites from the time coal is extracted (60% from surface-mining), processed and shipped to Florida energy plants. The environmental impacts of extraction and processing are high, and they are neglected. Another issue that is not factored in is the 'cost' for transportation. On average, coal travels 1400 miles to it's destination in Florida (Linder & Babbitt 2005). Alongside added carbon dioxide emissions from transportation, future fuel costs will increase and should be factored with the construction of new coal power plants. After the fuel is spent, the ash remains are buried in land-fills. Alongside leeching of sulfuric acids and various other toxins and metals are being introduced into the soil. The analysis concluded that increased environmental awareness with coal is important when weighing Florida's future energy infrastructure. The price-tag for coal will be much higher when "pollution control and prevention" is factored in. The journal of which the article
was published is dedicated to redefining industry standards across the
board in all sectors. Half the board members are from the Netherlands
which would promote KP initiatives The article was peer-reviewed and
the author's are from the University of FL. Dept. of Environmental engineering,
where programs are undertaken to better the environment and Florida's
society. The information within the journal has detailed information
regarding the electric plants in Fl that partially use coal-powered
facilities. It discusses the environmental consequences of these plants
from coal-use, which is assessed from the moment it is extracted, to
the time it is buried as a waste-product. 2. Banales-Lopez, S., V. Norberg-Bohm (2002). Public policy for energy technology innovation: A historical analysis of fluidized bed combustion development in theUSA. Energy Policy, 30. 3. Helm, D. (2002). Viewpoint: A critique of renewables policy in the UK. Energy Policy, 30. 4. Klass, D. L. (2003). A critical assessment of renewable energy usage in the USA. Energy Policy, 31. The U.S. energy infrastructure will see a shift toward renewable energies over the next century. The oil demands from the Middle East will decline, and technological advancements will attempt to fill the energy gap. According to Donald L. Klass (2003) article "A critical assessment of renewable energy usage in the USA", published in Energy Policy, he believes the energy void will be met through an "energy mix". The author states that practical application of renewable such as biomass, photovoltaic, and other 'green energies' will help fill the energy gap as the U.S. and international communities as the end of the fossil fuel era nears. There are two main drivers for the foreseen energy change that Klass (2007) categorizes: intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Intrinsic measures include scientific awareness of Global Warming that is attributed to GHG emission from burning of fossil fuels. Although the U.S. has the largest coal reserves, carbon-taxes and other environmental costs from burning coal will raise the price of 'cheap coal'. To combat this, the government uses incentives to keep the price low. The 'clean coal technologies' being researched and currently in production are far from the standards that will may be required with future stringent regulations. The extrinsic factors that the author discusses include the population growth and increased energy demands. It is believed that with certain prediction models, the increases stated will cause a serious shortage to current fossil fuel supplies (Klass 2007). Currently, the U.S. is not investing
enough renewable resources. With the concerns of declining supplies
of fossil fuel, increased regulations, and population increases. The
reason why FPL is not investing more renewable energy resources is because
that demand is not there. The technology is not reliable, commercially
functional, and would reduce profits. However, Klass believes that renewable
energies will be a necessity within the next century and to meet the
demands of the future, we must look into the future. 5. Manwell, J.F., C.N. Elkinton, A.L. Rogers, & J.G. McGowan (2007). Review of design conditions applicable to offshore wind energy systems in the United States. Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, 11. 6. McMullan, J.T. & E. P. Sloan
(1997) Clean Coal Technologies. Proceedings Institution There are several types of "clean coal technologies" that the energy industry focusing on to combat harmful emissions. In J. T. McMullan, B.C. Williams, and E.P. Sloan's article "Clean Coal Technologies"(1997), published in Proceedings Institution of Mechanical Engineers, they review current research being conducted and applications that are currently in place to produce efficient power from coal while tackling Sox and Nox emissions. The applications of "clean coal technologies" include integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) and pressurized fluidized bed combustion. The IGCC technology is the most effective method for GHG emissions, but operability and economic feasibility to implement at a commercial level is not available since power companies would lose profits. The cheaper and less efficient means is the pressurized fluidized bed combustion system, and has been improved since the article was written. Today, it is known as ultra-super critical pressurized fluidized bed combustion (USCPC) due to additional combustion and scrubbing techniques. Although it is a step up towards environmental standards, it is still insufficient when calculating future demands for environmental sound energy needs. The government and private sectors have putting large economic resources into developing better technologies and they are about to be implemented within the next decade. With this in mind, it does not seem feasible for FPL to build a less efficient power plant than it can, since it will be in use for at least 50 years. It should be well understood that
despite the advances in improving coal technologies, the continued building
of Florida's energy infrastructure through coal will have negative impacts
to the long-term economics, societal and environmental health of our
state. Thus, investing precious resources for a short-lived technology
is not efficient. It is important that people become informed about
the choices being made for 'our' needs. Electricity is an important
component to society and the need for it will not diminish. Therefore,
it is important to think about the long-term needs of society so that
when the time arrives, we will not be in an energy, environment, or
health crisis. 7. Nonhebel, S. (2005). Renewable energy and food supply: will there be enough land? Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, 9. 7. Wall, T.F. (2007). Combustion processes for carbon capture. Proceedings of the Combustion Institute, 31. Carbon capture after the combustion of coal is an important component to "clean coal technologies". To better understand this technique, required reading Terry F. Wall's (2007) article, "Combustion processes for carbon capture" and was published in the Proceedings of the Combustion Institute. The U.S.'s answer to 'clean coal' technologies lay in the sequestration of carbon. With so many coal-energy facilities outdated, this article reviews the current methods being utilized and researched for "commercial applications" for the carbon capture and storage (CCS). The carbon reducing technologies are systems that use 'pulverized coal combustion in entrained flow…or gasification in entrained flow" (Walls 2007). The problems with these types of systems are "efficiency penalties" and higher electrical demands to run the cleaning components. According to the author there is a desperate need for "fundamental research" in various areas that have only been lightly touched. Despite claims that the source of U.S. energy needs can be met through 'clean coal tech.' there are still design flaws and untested operating costs. Thus, to rely heavily on CSC to supply energy demands is a risk that must be further investigated. The author, Dr. Terry F. Walls,
is a professor of fuel and combustion engineering at the Univ. of Newcastle,
Australia. He has numerous awards and achievements within this field
and has written over 150 peer-reviewed journal articles. The article
in which this paper is written is an education-based, non-profit and
internationally based "scientific society". This paper can
supply me with technical information about 'clean coal technologies'
and how they are inefficient given the global outcry for reducing GHG
and other toxic emissions. Internet Sources 1. Freese, B., & S. Clemmer (2006). Gambling with Coal: How future climate laws willMake new coal power plants more expensive. <http://www.ucsusa.org/assets/documents/clean_energy/gambling_with_coal_final_report_sept_06.pdf.> (2007, February 1). New technology or not, coal plants are an unwise financial and environmental investment for meeting energy needs into the 21st Century. To meet America’s increasing demand for electricity, coal will cheaply fit the bill. Unfortunately, coal power plants are the leaders in carbon-dioxide and other GHG emissions. It was stated by one for the most prolific scientists groups with the U.S. (the National Academy of Sciences) that ‘climate change is real…. [And] there is now strong evidence that significant global warming is occurring”. The Bush Administration alongside many other politicians are being negligent to scientists and environmentalists, by increasing investments for coal-powered energies and by not increasing air pollution standards. There is an increase of State and local government officials, as-well-as public interest of taking their own steps to lower their own CO2 emissions and attempt to meet the KP requirements on their own (i.e. the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement). One effort Congress is pushing is “mandatory cap-and-trade” limits on carbon-dioxide restrictions. The authors state that one of the most important concerns, is that current policies and power companies are deciding to ‘risk’ their investments and construct new coal-powered plants; the burdens of CO2 taxes and other raising costs due to potential carbon-taxes and other rising costs due to increased regulations. If this occurs, the responsibility will not be left with the ‘shareholders’, but by the ‘ratepayers’. The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) is one of the leading nonprofit organizations that is dedicated to upholding the integrity of science by conduction research that improves the quality of life for society and the environment. They are funded in part by gifts, donations, and grants to their cause, but receive most of their financial support through memberships. Their bias would be for bettering society and the environment for a sustainable future. This article has a wealth of information pertaining to current political and scientific problems faced with the U.S. energy demand and finding solutions through coal, ‘the wrong way to go’. 2. (2007) Global Warming Campaign News: Coal Rush Will Dramatically Increase GlobalWarming Pollution & Challenge Energy Security. Environment Florida. <http://www.environmentflorida.org/news-relseases/global- warming/global-warming-campaign-newswinter07> (2007, February 01). The article announces that coal-powered energy plants are on the rise in the United States. Despite critical steps for the U.S. to achieve energy independence from foreign sources, the revitalization of ‘cheap energy’ and the ‘coal rush’ can be seen through subsequent construction plans for 150 new plants in the U.S. Despite the fact that coal is a non-renewable resource and it threatens U.S. economic security, the plants would greatly increase GHG emissions and other toxins. Within Florida, there are “6 new coal-fired power plants planned”. There are many negative impacts that Environment Florida points out: Increased global GHGH emissions, environmental degradation, huge investments in ‘dirty old technologies, declines in ‘green’ technologies, and huge financial risk to ‘rate-payers, utilities and generators’. The Environment Florida is an environmentally biased organization that believes in a sustainable natural environment. They are a group of educated individuals that are dedicated to “individual research” that tackles the most important issues facing Florida natural systems. Ultimately, they believe that nay type of “coal technology’ in Florida is a serious threat to the future of our delicate system. This source will provide an insight to the current dilemma face with the “coal-rush”. This source is a large component to the main these of my research and ties all the problems faced with meeting the future of Florida’s energy needs. 3. (2007) Senate investigates abuse of climate science. Union of Concerned Scientists. http://www.ucsusa.org/news/press_release/federal-climate-scientists-0009.html (2007, February 13). In their most recent report, the UCS investigation regarding U.S. political intervention with global warming reports is asinine. Essentially, there is a clear representation of sneaky work that has broken the integrity of ‘true’ scientific research. The report is a follow-up after their January 30, 2007 report “Investigation Reveals Widespread Suppression of Federal Climate Research (http://www.ucsusa.org/news/press_release/investigation-reveals-0007.html). According to the UCS, there is a ‘system-wide epidemic’ that has resulted in nearly 450 cases of “interference” by government officials. This raises a serious alarm, because sound and ‘informed decisions about our health, safety, and environment” depend on the science of climate change. One of the key issues the UCS is demanding is a “strong whistleblower protection for scientists”. The UCS is one of the most accredited groups of educated scientific professionals within the United States. They are partially funded by gifts, donations, and grants to their research, but receive most of their financials support through membership. Their bias would be for bettering society and the natural environment with no regards to political or economic gain. This current topic article provides critical evidence that supports Erik Reece’s understanding and description of “the power’ that the coal industry has on the political and economic regimes within the United States. Shnayerson, M. (2006). The Rape of Appalachia. Appalachia Center for the Economy & the Environment. < http://www.appalachian-center.org/media/2006/vanity_fair_may06.pdf > (2007. February 14). 5. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2006). Clean Energy-Environment Guide to Action: Policies, Best Practices, and Action Steps for States. Washington, DC: Climate Protection Partnership Division. 6. West, L. (2006) Carbon Dioxide Appeal May Be Most Important Environmental Case in Court History. http://environment.about.com/od/environmentallawpolicy (2007,February 12) 7. (2006) World Coal Institute. Coal: Liquid fuels. <ttp://www.worldcoal.org/assets_cm/files/PDF/wci_coal_liquid_fuels.pdf > (2007, February 13).
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Website by Rob Leisure (2007). rmleisur@eagle.fgcu.edu FGCU logo © 2006 |
