Friday, July 21, 2006

drax the destroyer

I've just published a piece on The Sharpener about Drax power station; the largest emitter of CO2 in the UK, and the main target for action from the Camp For Climate Action.

Called Drax The Destroyer, it takes apart any claims that burning coal is somehow acceptable in a world that needs to avert serious climate change.

Like Barbara Freese puts it in Coal: A Human History

We've made a lot of mistakes over the centuries as we've struggled to understand the nature and impact of coal and its smoke.

Some thought coal grew underground from seeds or in mines guarded by demons or dragons. Some saw in the mines scientific proof of the biblical flood. Some credited coal with protecting people from the bubonic plague; others accused it of promoting baldness, tooth decay, sordid murders, caustic speech and fuzzy thinking.

More recently, many of us believed we could burn vast amounts of coal indefinitely without disrupting the natural balance of the planet.

No doubt we still have much ot learn about coal, but at least we've been able to dispel many of the old myths.


UPDATE: In order to prevent crossover and keep the debate in one place, any Comments for my posts on The Sharpener should be left there rather than here.