coal power

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First Country to Open Coal-Fired Power Plant Closes Its Last One

UK is first G7 county to fully phase out coal power

(Newser) - Britain has said goodbye to coal power, some 142 years after Thomas Edison opened the world's first coal-fired electricity plant in London. The Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station in Nottingham, the last coal-fired power plant in the country, closed on Monday, the Guardian reports. The plant, which opened in 1967, employed...

EPA Cracks Down Hard on Coal Power Plants

New rules, applauded by climate groups, tell plants to capture emissions or close

(Newser) - Coal-fired power plants would be forced to capture smokestack emissions or shut down under a rule issued Thursday by the Environmental Protection Agency, per the AP . New limits on greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel-fired power plants are the Biden administration's most ambitious effort yet to roll back planet-warming...

In a First, Wind Outdoes Coal, Nuclear Power

A permanent shift doesn't appear imminent after single-day milestone, agency says

(Newser) - On March 29, wind turbines throughout the continental US produced 19% of the nation's energy, government data show. That was more than coal or nuclear power contributed, the first time that's been the case, according to the US Energy Information Administration. Only natural gas topped wind power that...

Jump in Coal Use Pushes Up US Emissions

Increase outstrips economic growth, making Biden's goal harder to reach

(Newser) - Greenhouse gas emissions rose last year, making the US goal of a 50% reduction by 2030 that much harder to reach. The increase was 6.2% over 2020, pushed by a 17% jump in coal-fired electricity, the Washington Post reports. An analysis by the Rhodium Group, a research firm, showed...

Trump Administration Replaces Landmark Obama Climate Rule
Obama's Landmark
Climate Rule Is Dead
Jun 19, 2019 12:02 PM CDT

Obama's Landmark Climate Rule Is Dead

EPA chief Andrew Wheeler signed replacement rule Wednesday

(Newser) - The Trump administration on Wednesday completed one of its biggest rollbacks of environmental rules, replacing a landmark Obama-era effort that sought to wean the nation's electrical grid off coal-fired power plants and their climate-damaging pollution. EPA chief Andrew Wheeler, a former coal industry lobbyist, signed a replacement rule that...

Ex-NYC Mayor: Here's $500M, Close Down All the Coal Plants

Michael Bloomberg wants all coal factories shut down by 2030 in clean energy push

(Newser) - Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is plunging $500 million into an effort to close all of the nation's remaining coal plants by 2030 and put the US on track toward a 100% clean energy economy. The billionaire's investment in the Beyond Carbon initiative marks the largest...

EPA: New Rule May Result in More Premature Deaths

'New York Times' looks into the fine print of new coal pollution rules

(Newser) - President Trump visits West Virginia Tuesday, and it's a safe bet he'll be trumpeting the proposal his administration just unveiled to ease up on coal plants. The Affordable Clean Energy Rule would roll back an Obama-era plan on emissions deemed too heavy-handed by the Trump administration, reports the...

At UN Climate Conference, US Touts Coal

Audience members in Bonn, Germany, weren't pleased

(Newser) - A Trump administration panel touted coal and nuclear energy in its only official appearance at an 11-day United Nations climate conference in Germany on Monday—when it could get its message out over jeering protesters and audience members. "Without question, fossil fuels will continue to be used," though...

White House: Cut Carbon Now, or Pay $150B a Year Later

Climate change costs could jump 40% each decade

(Newser) - When it comes to climate change, the United States can pay to cut carbon emissions now, or we can pay about $150 billion a year down the road as costs soar by about 40% a decade, according to a White House Council of Economic Advisers analysis out today, as per...

EPA to Seek 30% Drop in Carbon Emissions

Environmental Protection Agency will unveil plan tomorrow

(Newser) - Heads up, coal plants: The EPA plans to unveil a new rule tomorrow seeking a 30% drop in carbon-dioxide emissions from existing power plants by 2030, sources tell the Wall Street Journal . The federal government will let states choose how to implement the rule—with more renewable energy, cap-and-trade programs,...

Obama to Bypass Congress, Put Limits on Power Plants

EPA to make announcement today

(Newser) - For the first time, the Environmental Protection Agency will set limits on the greenhouse gases power plants can emit. Today, the agency will announce that new coal plants' carbon emissions must stay below 1,100 pounds per megawatt hour, while new natural gas plants must maintain emissions below 1,000...

State of the Union to Target Emissions Cuts

EPA could move to limit existing plants' greenhouse gases

(Newser) - President Obama's 2013 State of the Union address will follow up on his inaugural call to arms against climate change, insiders say. Though the specifics aren't clear yet, it's likely Obama will discuss limiting existing power plants' emissions—a plan that could depend on his use of...

Greenpeace Slams Apple's 'Dirty' iCloud

Company disputes Greenpeace's data center figures

(Newser) - Apple is the worst offender among tech giants relying on "dirty energy" like coal to fuel gigantic data centers, according to a scathing Greenpeace report released this week. The report also slammed Amazon and Microsoft for excessive energy use, while praising Facebook, Google, and Yahoo for their efforts to...

The Coal-Powered Secret of Some Electric Cars

Coal-powered states make it dirty to 'em power up

(Newser) - Your electric car (or the one you dream of having) is greener than your neighbor's gas guzzler—right? Well, scientists now say it depends on where you live, the New York Times reports. For people in states that use natural gas, nuclear power, or hydroelectric power to fire up...

20 Most Toxic States
 20 Most Toxic States 
Jul 21, 2011 3:40 PM CDT

20 Most Toxic States

Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida at the top

(Newser) - Ohio accounts for more air pollution than any other state, according to a new report from the Natural Resources Defense Council spotted by LiveScience . The state's power plants pumped out 44.5 million pounds of chemicals in 2009, or 12% of all US industrial air pollution. Overall, US power...

Burning Coal Slowed Climate Change: Study

Sulfur pollution masked effect of CO2 emissions

(Newser) - The vast amounts of coal China burned during the 2000s may have actually slowed down climate change, according to a new study. Researchers believe the sulfur pollution caused by burning coal deflected the sun's rays, causing a temporary plateau in warming, the AP reports. But while sulfur drops out...

Greenpeace: 3 China Firms Emit More Carbon Than All of UK

(Newser) - China's inefficient power plants and heavy reliance on coal are dragging down global efforts to curb climate change, a Greenpeace report warned yesterday. The report found that major Chinese power companies are responsible for a huge amount of the country's coal use and emissions, with the top three producers alone...

Climate 'Urgency' Takes a Backseat to Progress: Will

(Newser) - At their recent summit, the G8 nations vowed to cut emissions 80% ... within 41 years. That seems like a pretty lethargic response to a so-called “emergency,” but as Italy’s Silvio Berlusconi said, the effort is virtually futile while “5 billion people continue to behave as they...

Utilities Poison Water to Meet EPA Air Regs

(Newser) - A federal law that keeps utilities from poisoning the air is causing toxic metals to infiltrate US waterways, the Washington Post reports. As the Environmental Protection Agency debates possible solutions with lawmakers, utility companies are storing pollutants like mercury and selenium in sludge ponds that eventually leak into lakes and...

Clean Coal Myth Proves Industry Is Declining

(Newser) - Clean coal is a myth, and the companies selling it “have their heads stuck in the mine,” Thomas Kostigen writes on MarketWatch. Although Americans generate close to 50% of their energy from coal, the technology is so yesterday—and the industry is not poised to move forward. It...

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