BLACKSBURG

--Mitigating greenhouse gas emissions in order to slow down, stop, or even begin to reverse the potentially devastating effects of anthropogenic climate change is essential. Balancing those emissions while meeting increasing energy needs in the United States and the world, while simultaneously maintaining a strong economy, will be extremely difficult.

Since no energy option--not coal, not nuclear, not oil and gas, not renewables--is currently unproblematic and ready to assume the bulk of our clean energy needs in the near future, everything--every energy option--ought to be on the table. Research and development is needed for each option and for all greenhouse gas mitigation technologies; it will cost money and we must start investing now if we want to mitigate climate change.

Reasonable projections based on scientific data suggest how pursuing a portfolio of options could add up to an overall solution to the problem. Efficiency and conservation measures have to be increased to reduce demand wherever possible. There is a role for nuclear, natural gas, wind, solar, and yes, coal.

The best projections show coal, the burning of which has already become much cleaner and can be made cleaner still, when carbon dioxide (CO2) is captured, transported, and stored safely underground in various geological formations, to be part of our energy mix for the foreseeable future. As is well-known, the U.S. has a lot of coal, more reserves than any other country in the world, and already has a huge coal-based infrastructure to utilize it. Bringing this infrastructure to a halt isn't currently a serious option; increased efficiency measures are to be supported, but we simply don't know how to meet our energy needs economically without utilizing coal.

In major parts of the world such as China and India, doing without coal is even less of an option; the development of new coal-fired power plants is proceeding exponentially faster than in the U.S. in order to quench their thirst for affordable electricity.

MORE CO2 THAN WE NEED