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Liquid Coal

Take Action! Tell Congress to say "No" to the liquid coal industry.
CRUDE SUBSTITUTE
The Folly of Liquid Coal
The Folly of Liquid Coal: See the video
»Cartoon: Liquid Coal: Don't Buy It

The coal industry is touting a plan to transform millions of tons of coal into diesel fuel and other liquid fuels using an expensive, inefficient process that releases large quantities of global warming pollution. Producing liquid coal fuel generates twice as much heat-trapping carbon dioxide as producing ordinary gasoline. Even if the CO2 released by liquid coal plants is captured, the emissions would still be higher than the emissions from today's crude oil system.

In addition to nearly doubling global warming pollution, relying on synthetic liquid coal fuel would increase the harmful effects of coal mining on communities and ecosystems from Appalachia to the Rocky Mountains. Stepping up coal production to generate liquid fuels would mean stepping up strip-mining and mountaintop removal, which can destroy wildife habitats, aquifers and open space. Coal mining also produces hazardous and toxic wastes that can contaminate groundwater.

MORE DIRTY FUELS:
Tar Sands | Liquid Coal | Oil Shale | Dirty Fuels Home

More About Coal
» Gas From Coal? Even Dirtier.
» Liquid Coal Fact Sheet [pdf]
» Coal in a Changing Climate
» Dirty Coal vs. Clean Energy
» Razing Appalachia [podcast]
» NRDC Report: Driving It Home

Photo: Alamy; illustration: Mark Fiore

last revised 12/2/2008

All Tags [ View Popular Tags ]:
AB 1493
agriculture
air pollution
airlines
appliances
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
asthma
auto industry
automakers
biodiesel
biofuels
birds
BLM
boreal forest
buses
bush administration
buying clean energy
California
Canada
cancer
carbon offsets
caribou
case studies
causes
Cheney energy task force
China
clean energy
cleantech
coal
coal-fired power plants
compact fluorescent lighting
conservation and restoration
consumer products
diesel
diesel buses
diesel exhaust
dirty fuels
drilling
efficient vehicles
electric utilities
electricity industry
emissions
emphysema
energy efficiency
energy policy
energy security
environmental history
EPA
ethanol
exhaust
fuel economy
fuel savings
gas drilling
gas mileage
gas prices
gasoline
global warming
global warming emissions
global warming legislation
green buildings
green diesel
health
health effects
household energy use
human health
hybrid bus
hybrid electric vehicles
hybrid vehicles
hybrids
hydrogen
hydropower
indoor air quality
jobs
Kids' Health
landfill gas
lead
liquid coal
location efficient mortgages
Los Angeles
mass transit
mercury
national security
natural gas
NEPA
new energy economy
New York
New York City
nitrogen oxides
nrdc offices
nuclear energy
offshore drilling
oil
oil price spikes
oil shale
open space
ozone
particulate pollution
photos
polar bears
policy
pollution
public lands
public transportation
redrock country
renewable energy
renewables
respiratory illness
Rocky Mountains
smart growth
smog
solar power
solutions
soot
sprawl
sulfur dioxide
tar sands
tourism
transportation
trucks
vehicle
vehicles
water management
western water
what you can do
wind power
Yellowstone

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