Putting lipstick on the coal pig

authordefault
on

When people argue that the use of coal and other fossil fuels is still cheaper than renewable energy they usually (and conveniently) fail to mention the external costs of fossil fuels that aren’t factored into the price of burning of these dirty fuels.

On the Wall Street Journal’s Environment Capital blog today there’s a great post explaining how:

“… fossil fuels remain cheaper because not all their costs are tallied—and that means pollution. Traditional power plants spew particulates into the air as well as carbon dioxide, but historically the cost of that pollution was not included in the pricetag for, say, operating a coal-fired plant.”

Read the entire WSJ post here:  AC/DC: What’s the True Cost of Electricity?


This month we’re giving away FREE copies Nobel Laureate Dr. Andrew Weaver’s new book Keeping Our Cool: Canada in a Warming World.

Go here to find out more details about DeSmogBlog’s monthly book give-away.

Related Posts

on

DeSmog writer Justin Nobel’s new book explores how workers bear the brunt of the oil and gas industry’s hidden contaminated waste.

DeSmog writer Justin Nobel’s new book explores how workers bear the brunt of the oil and gas industry’s hidden contaminated waste.
on

Britain is boosting the Kremlin war effort by continuing to purchase billions of pounds worth of refined oil from India, China, and Turkey, campaigners say.

Britain is boosting the Kremlin war effort by continuing to purchase billions of pounds worth of refined oil from India, China, and Turkey, campaigners say.
on

Advertorials and a podcast vanish as regulators consider greenwashing complaint against the state-owned oil giant.

Advertorials and a podcast vanish as regulators consider greenwashing complaint against the state-owned oil giant.
on

From South Africa to Ukraine, five industrial chicken companies that supply KFC have benefited from financing from the World Bank Group and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

From South Africa to Ukraine, five industrial chicken companies that supply KFC have benefited from financing from the World Bank Group and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.