Question Earthority!

“Texas is not a painless place to rein in polluting industries, and battles fought in court can be insanely expensive, with victories far from guaranteed. I’m not suggesting that stopping mighty coal is another easy day in the office. But giving coal the green light should never be done, even on the hardest terrain. No new coal means no new coal, regardless of the corporations’ concessions. In this case, the concessions seem grand. NuCoastal has agreed to offset 100 percent of its mercury reductions by reducing emissions by 80 percent and purchasing mercury emissions credits. The corporation has also promised to offset 100 percent of its carbon dioxide emissions through a variety of credible-sounding avenues: funding energy efficiency programs, shutting down a comparable source of emissions, building wind turbines, or investing in carbon sequestration equipment. … But good things don’t always come in suavely wrapped packages. ‘Offsets’ and ‘emissions credits’ are just pretty terms for a dirty reality: NuCoastal’s coal plant will still be polluting, and the people of Calhoun County will still be suffering.” (08/30/07)