|
Clean and Green to Dark and Dirty - And What's in Between
by Nick Cain
Conservation and Energy Efficiency
 |
Saving energy is cheaper and cleaner than any means of making it. New efficient refrigerators, air conditioners, washers and other appliances save energy and pay for themselves in savings. Half the oil Americans currently use could be saved simply by making cars and SUVs go farther on a gallon of gas. |
Solar
 Solar energy creates no pollution and is the most environmentally friendly source of power currently available. Most systems use arrays of solar collectors that concentrate heat from the sun, or photovoltaic cells that turn light directly into electricity. Large-scale systems require land, but don't require extraction of fuel. Smaller systems can be easily added to existing buildings, and costs to do so are coming down. The Sierra Club strongly supports using solar technology more widely.
Wind
 Wind energy is cheap, clean and plentiful. Experts estimate that the Earth's winds could provide many times more energy than the world needs. The downside is that in certain areas, turbine blades can kill or injure birds. Proper siting and design can minimize these risks and the Sierra Club strongly supports wind power sited appropriately.
Geothermal
 Geothermal energy is created by tapping reservoirs of heat that exist naturally underground. The problem is that facilities must often be built in fragile areas to take advantage of natural heat-energy. Considering this, the Sierra Club supports geothermal power with caution.
Fuel Cells
 Fuel cells, though not yet widely used, hold the promise of generating electricity cheaply and cleanly. They are chemical batteries that generate electricity through a chemical reaction instead of combustion. In hydrogen fuel cells, drinkable water and heat are the only byproducts. Fuel cells can run on pure hydrogen and produce no pollution, and the hydrogen will one day be generated by renewable energy. The Sierra Club strongly supports their use.
Hydropower
 Hydropower produces no air pollution or global-warming pollution, but the environmental effects of damming rivers can be severe. The Sierra Club supports small-scale hydropower and the use of existing generating plants, but because of the effects of large dams on wildlife and watersheds, the Club does not support large-scale hydropower.
Natural Gas
Though burning natural gas generates air pollution, state-of-the-art plants are far more efficient and cleaner than any other fossil fuel. Gas produces better than 40 percent less global-warming pollution than coal, America's predominant power-plant fuel. The Sierra Club supports using natural gas as a "bridge" fuel until renewable energy is the predominant energy source. The Club also supports modernizing old power plants with new technology.
Oil
 Oil-fired plants pollute 20 to 100 times more than the best natural gas power plants, but are cleaner than coal. However, the air pollution created by burning oil is only part of the problem: Drilling, pumping and transporting oil creates serious risks to the environment. The Club opposes building new oil-fired plants, but does support bringing existing plants up to modern standards.
Coal
 Coal is the most polluting fuel. Emissions from coal-fired power plants is a major contributor to air pollution and global warming. So-called "clean-coal" technology isn't clean enough to make a difference. In addition, coal mining devastates the environment through strip mining, "mountaintop removal" and dangerous subterranean mining. The Sierra Club opposes building coal-fired power plants and favors the shutdown of existing plants or the orderly conversion to natural gas.
Nuclear
 Nuclear power is the most expensive and dangerous way ever devised to boil water. Radioactive materials generate heat to boil water to turn a turbine. The Sierra Club opposes building new nuclear power plants. They don't create air pollution, but they do create extremely dangerous radioactive waste that must be kept contained for thousands or even tens-of-thousands of years - something that many scientists say is impossible to do safely.
Up to Top
|
