No new coal plants?

[Doctor_K]

Anyone else making the switch to CFLs?

they say that in order to get the most usage and lifespan out of them, you should replace them in places where you use lights for long (15+ minutes) stretches at a time.  Short of cooking in the kitchen, I don't have a whole bunch of lights on in my house ever.  Certainly not for 20- or more-minute long stretches.  OK... maybe the master and guest bathrooms?

Replacing bulbs in ten light sockets probably wouldn't amount to much of a savings on my overall utilities bill, considering I've got Energy Star-compliant everything, practically.

I am also saving electricity by wrapping the hot water heater(old comforter) and turning off the hot water during the day when no one is home or when away on the weekend.

I don't know that I have the wherewithall to turn my hot water heater on and off everyday, but does wrapping up the tank really amount to noticeable savings?  Is it safe with a regular comforter or should I look into getting a thermal blanket?  My heater/tank is less than 2 years old...

[Jason]

Excessive switching will reduce the lifespan of a CFL which is one of the negatives. 

My power consumption savings (as best as I can calculate) have dropped roughly about 90-100KWH per month by switching to CFLs on almost all of my light fixtures.  The other 100KWH I've been able to shed is by running the AC less, unplugging the plasma tv at night/when away, and running less hot water.  Also, all of my appliances are enrgy star, like yours.

[uptowngirl]

Excessive switching will reduce the lifespan of a CFL which is one of the negatives. 

My power consumption savings (as best as I can calculate) have dropped roughly about 90-100KWH per month by switching to CFLs on almost all of my light fixtures.  The other 100KWH I've been able to shed is by running the AC less, unplugging the plasma tv at night/when away, and running less hot water.  Also, all of my appliances are enrgy star, like yours.

You ahve to unplug the plasma not just turn it off?

[Matt]

HOLY $#%?!!!
We still use coal plants?
WTF!?!?!?



Seriously?

[civil42806]

CFL's will be the next major environmental disaster.  Just after this one

http://www.epa.gov/safewater/contaminants/unregulated/mtbe.html

Everyone talks about how if you break one its not a big deal, JUST DONT VACCUM!!!!!  But the problem is we don't just have one light bulb in your house.   You have multiple ones, if you don't have kids it may not be a problem.  But what if after 10 or 15 years there have been multiple ones broken.  Or the very likely hood that people don't dispose of them properly, which is very likely, so we have landfills full of these things.  The idea that everyone will adjust there behaviour, as far as turning lights on and off after the right amount of time is a joke.  People just don't adjust there behaviour all that easy. 


If your grandkids want a future career, mercury contamination clean up is the one for them or the building inspector that tries to figure out if the old house is contaminated

[Ocklawaha]

Anyone knocking the coal industry hasn't studied the rocks. Anthracite coal, found in 7 BILLION short tons in PA, MD as well as huge reserves in Wales, Colombia and Ukraine, all burns clean. In fact anthracite burns as clean as fuel oil and gas.

Someone simply needs to educate our baby President elect on the joys of good coal v the bad stuff. Even so the so-called dirty coal can run through secondary burners and scrubbers and come out about where anthracite would score. In the old days the famous Vaudeville star, Miss Phoebe Snow, who always dressed in white, would only travel via railroad of Anthracite, because there were NO CINDERS to soil her dresses. The Lackawanna Railroad latched onto her as a famous logo, and before Amtrak in 1971, the final NEW YORK-CHICAGO "Phoebe Snow" streamliner train made it's last run before Amtrak gave it the axe. Memories of Anthracite, an industry we have overlooked, for the cheap open pits of Wyoming Powder River Coal.

In Colombia, where we still have a fleet of retired (but servicable) steam locomotives of US make, I have gotten lots of cinders in my eyes from dirty GE and ALCO diesels. But never one from our coal burner "toys" which we haul out on Christmas and special occasions. ANTHRACITE!

You can also spell this "C O L O M B I A = KEYSTONE = JAXPORT = ANTHRACITE..." I'm cheering Keystone!

Obama? Simply sign an ANTHRACITE ACT.

OCKLAWAHA

[tashi]

"Clean coal" is a lie the coal producers made up!

Check out the video link for THE COAL TRUTH.

http://think.mtv.com/044FDFFFF00989EAE0017009951C7/

[Ocklawaha]

Sorry but you'll have to do better then that post to convince me.

1. Most of the video is about strip mines and the after effects in Alabama. Alabama could pass a land restoration bill such as many states have requiring these mines to reshape and reforest the land.

2. Cracked foundations? Water pollution? NIMBY syndrome. If you locate near one of these mines, don't cry when the mine effects you. A large mine of this type isn't in and out in 5 months but more like 10-50 years.
Who approved the mine upstream from the water resources? DUH? Doesn't anybody think? Again that's not the coals fault.

3. The only comment on combustion that was made, was with regards to current plants and local coal. Neither would be the case if Clean Coal Technology was put into place. You hear the UMWA man say it brings good union jobs, and the Vanderbilt University has developed clean combustion. Then the video again goes back to the cry baby in the boat talking about anything but combustion.

4. Anthracite Coal is very special (as a type of mined product) it is found in very few locations on earth. The USA (only in PA-MD) - COLOMBIA - UKRAINE. The video misses this subject completely, but then the Alabama boys wouldn't know about it. The video COMPLETELY AVOIDS THIS SUBJECT - anthracite.

5. I've run with anthracite many times (I'm the resident rail planner and have worked in COLOMBIA) on our historic steam engines. Not a cinder, not a speck, and look mom - no smoke (good fireman).

I too am an environmentalist, but not at the cost of America and human lives.

OCKLAWAHA

[Jason]

You ahve to unplug the plasma not just turn it off?

Yes, because the tv still draws power even when it is turned off.  Many appliances and electronic devices are guilty of this.  Its called "ghost power".

[Jason]

Anthracite is a great and clean substitute for traditional coal, however, mining it is still devastating to the natural environment and it is still coal, therefore a polutant when burned.  I'm not saying it should be outlawed tomorrow, I'm saying coal technology should be systematically phased out and replaced with cleaner technology such as nuclear, wind, solar, tidal, etc.

I too am an environmentalist, but not at the cost of America and human lives.

I couldn't agree with you more.

[TPC]

I'm not sure if many people on the forum check out vice.tv, it's an offshoot of vice magazine. Anyways, I watched the video series Toxic West Virginia about mountain top removal. Basically they remove mountain tops to extract coal from deposits under the mountain instead of drilling.

Be warned though, vice.tv has some very racy videos.

http://www.vbs.tv/video.php?id=494918454

[Jason]

Here is a post I made in another thread on the devastation of coal mining...

read the other thread here:  http://www.metrojacksonville.com/forum/index.php/topic,3388.15.html

Aerial of open-pit coal mine in Venezuela.




Not sure where this one is







Aerial of natural gas facility....

Offshore


Onshore




You be the judge of the impact comparisons.....








Just for fun... the inside of a coal storage dome.  JEA's are MUCH larger.

Although JEA and other utilities are doing great things with clean coal technology and eleminating as much polution as possible, coal-fired power plants are not the future and need to be phased out.

[BridgeTroll]

Anyone else making the switch to CFLs?

they say that in order to get the most usage and lifespan out of them, you should replace them in places where you use lights for long (15+ minutes) stretches at a time.  Short of cooking in the kitchen, I don't have a whole bunch of lights on in my house ever.  Certainly not for 20- or more-minute long stretches.  OK... maybe the master and guest bathrooms?

Replacing bulbs in ten light sockets probably wouldn't amount to much of a savings on my overall utilities bill, considering I've got Energy Star-compliant everything, practically.

I am also saving electricity by wrapping the hot water heater(old comforter) and turning off the hot water during the day when no one is home or when away on the weekend.

I don't know that I have the wherewithall to turn my hot water heater on and off everyday, but does wrapping up the tank really amount to noticeable savings?  Is it safe with a regular comforter or should I look into getting a thermal blanket?  My heater/tank is less than 2 years old...

Usually it is a single circuit breaker on the main circuit panel.  I marked it with bright blue tape so it is easily seen.  With my water heater off all day and wrapped when I come home at 6 pm flip the breaker to on... I have plenty of hot water in 20 minutes.  As for safety... I probably would not wrap as I have if you have a gas water heater due to the flame.  I have electric and all is self contained.  Hot water heaters can be 30-35% of your entire bill... insulate it and turn it off while away or at work and you will save alot...

[Ocklawaha]

Horton-Grange Mine in UK, restored with a lake teaming with fish.



Meanwhile back home, Bulmore Park mine - restored by Mr. Bulmore.

This doesn't have to be a total abandonment of coal tech - that would be insane if we can burn it clean. Certainly anthracite doesn't pollute any more when burned then fuel oil or gas fired plants do. America is rich in coal, it should be up to the states to get these mines restored like the two above. Anything short of full restoration is not acceptable. States that have ridgid rules on these things (Like California) require that the mines are worked in a cut and cover system, call it restore on the go. Works for me - I love the smell of coal smoke (it's sweet). BTW anthracite also can be coked for steel production, ever wonder why "American Made" - "Britt" or "German" tools are so superior? Why they don't break? TOP NOTCH COKE FROM ANTHRACITE. Worlds best steel. Trust me, I do railroads, you WANT American rolled rail.

OCKLAWAHA