COAL: China's use soars despite pollution, mining accidents (10/29/2007)
China became a net importer of coal for the first time this year, and the country's use continues to soar despite plaguing pollution and mining accidents.
A new coal-fired plant is slated to go online once a week in China, where coal is the backbone of the developing country's energy system.
An average of 13 Chinese miners die every day from explosions, floods, fires and cave-ins. Clouds of mercury and other emissions are polluting the country's air and permeating other nations beyond its borders.
"Not very many people are talking about what do we do to live with the consequences of what's happening," said James Brock, an industry consultant in the Beijing office of Cambridge Energy Research Associates. "The polar bears are doomed -- they're going to museums. At the end of this century, the Arctic ice cap will be gone. That means a lot of water rising, not by inches but by meters."
Worldwide electricity consumption is expected to double by 2030, according to the World Energy Council.
In China, the economy is growing by 10 percent per year, largely fueled by coal power (Elaine Kurtenbach, AP/San Francisco Chronicle online, Oct. 28).
Pollution contributing to Chinese birth defects
Birth defects in Chinese infants have risen nearly 40 percent since 2001 due to increased pollution in the country, a government report by China's National Population and Family Planning Commission says.
The rate of defects increased from 104.9 per 10,000 births in 2001 to 145.5 in 2006, the report notes. Infants with birth defects make up about 4 to 6 percent of total births each year.
The World Health Organization estimates about 3-5 percent of children worldwide are born with birth defects.
Shanxi, China's coal-rich northern province and power plant hub, had the highest rate of defects (Reuters, Oct. 29).
Enviro group urges Nevada regulators to open talks over new plants
A coalition of environmental groups is asking the Nevada Environmental Protection Department to open to the public negotiations regarding three proposed new coal-fired power plants in the state.
The coalition includes the Sierra Club, Citizen Alert, the Nevada Conservation League, the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada and the Bristlecone Alliance.
Sierra Pacific Resources, Sithe Global Power and LS Power Associates are in discussions with state environmental regulators regarding emissions standards.
"But to this point, the process has taken place behind closed doors," a letter by Nevadans for Clean, Affordable, Reliable Energy says.
"The worst thing for Nevada would be a toothless agreement to be thrown together in a back room," said coalition spokeswoman Linda Ball (AP/Denver Post, Oct. 28). -- KB
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