Causecast

by SHANNON FLAHERTY, Contributing Writer

According to a report released today by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, U.S. power plants will burn 2.6 percent less coal in 2009 than they did last year.

Established in 1977 during the enactment of the Department of Energy (DOE), the EIA offers official energy statistics from the U.S. Government. As the single federal authority for energy information, the EIA acts independent from the DOE with respect to data collection.

In this month’s edition, the EIA report states that power plants will burn about 1,014.9 million tons of coal in 2009, down from 1,041.6 million tons burned in 2008. The reduction has been related to the recession’s effect on electricity sales, as well as the fact that plants have begun to turn to cheaper natural gas. Power demand in 2009 is also expected to slip on a milder summer. Air conditioning demand during the summer is expected to be about 5 percent lower than last summer, the EIA forcast.

Coal power stations are the least carbon efficient power stations in terms of the level of carbon dioxide produced per unit of electricity generated, and gas is the best. Therefore, coal power plants are seen as the worst offenders responsible for the greenhouse gas emissions that create global warming and climate change.

A recent Law Professor’s Blog story detailed trends in public support for alternative energy sources. In fact, a poll conducted of over 20,000 people in 21 nations by WorldPublicOpinion.org found that the public strongly supports requiring businesses to be energy efficient and utilities to use alternative energy sources such as wind and solar, even if this increases the cost of energy and other products. There was far less support for use of nuclear power, coal or oil as energy sources. In all nations, most people reject the view that shifting to alternative energy sources would hurt the economy, believing instead that it would save money in the long run.

Visit Causecast member organization Global Green USA to read up on more potential solutions to global climate change.

Photo by daniel shea, flickr