Why Alan Jones and Andrew Bolt are morons.

Andrew Bolt and Alan Jones have been taking to the air waves in mock indignation of the term “Carbon Pollution”. I say mock indignation because they are either dumb patsies or manipulative deceivers.

What most people do not seem to want to talk about is what actually comes out of a coal fired power plant for instance. CO2 is the one getting the headlines because of its greenhouse gas properties. But there are FAR FAR FAR more polluants that are directly linked to the burning of fossil fuels, coal in particular.

Coal, when burnt in extreme heat conditions such as coal fired plants and smelters produce the following in the way of emissions.

The flue gas from combustion of the fossil fuels is discharged to the air; this contains carbon dioxide and water vapour, as well as other substances such as nitrogen, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, and (in the case of coal-fired plants) fly ash, mercury and traces of other metals.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossil_fuel_power_station

Oh my! Other metals? I wonder what that means? I ‘m glad you asked! Actually before I tell you, I just want to say I so miss this guy.

Where was I? Oh yes…

Radioactive trace elements

Coal is a sedimentary rock formed primarily from accumulated plant matter, and it includes many inorganic minerals and elements which were deposited along with organic material during its formation. As the rest of the Earth’s crust, coal also contains low levels of uranium, thorium, and other naturally occurring radioactive isotopes whose release into the environment leads to radioactive contamination. While these substances are present as very small trace impurities, enough coal is burned that significant amounts of these substances are released.

A 1,000 MW coal-burning power plant could have an uncontrolled release of as much as 5.2 metric tons per year of uranium (containing 74 pounds (34 kg) of uranium-235) and 12.8 metric tons per year of thorium.

In comparison, a 1,000 MW nuclear plant will generate about 30 short tons of high-level radioactive solid packed waste per year.

It is estimated that during 1982, US coal burning released 155 times as much uncontrolled radioactivity into the atmosphere as the Three Mile Island incident.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossil_fuel_power_station#Radioactive_trace_elements

Full report here http://www.physics.ohio-state.edu/~aubrecht/coalvsnucMarcon.pdf#page=8

And yes. I have used wikipedia as well. Sue me. I hope you also noticed that a coal fired power plant and a nuclear power plant produce the same quantity of radioactive Uranium waste. One though is stored in solid form to be stored dangerously some where and the other is released into the atmosphere with absolutely no control method.

I also liked that how it was estimated that in 1982, 155 times the amount of radiation was released in the atmosphere as was released in the three mile island incident in the USA alone.

Lets see. It has been 30 years since then. That would mean in the last 30 years and just from the USA alone and assuming no new coal fire power plants where built since 1982, that would make 4650 times the Three Mile Island incident.

Anyone care to work out what a planet full of coal powered fire plants over the last thirty years would produce?

But lets not just talk about radioactivity and isotopes such as C14 which have a half life of over 5,000 years. Let that sink in a little. 5,000 years. That is longer then the Pyramids of Giza have existed on this planet.

And even then, it would STILL have another 5,000 years to go before it totally broke down.

Lets ignore those little points of facts and concentrate more on other things. Such as acid rain, air pollution (which incidentally kills millions annually directly and indirectly). Lets not mention the coal fly ash and respiratory disease. Or mecury and the rising levels there of in sea life. Lets not talk about the particulates in the air. Or even carbon monoxide.

Lets talk about global warming instead.

Slowly but surely, we are filling our atmosphere not only with green house gases in the millions of tonnes, we are creating some radioactive CO2 in the process. That stuff wont go away in the natural cycle of CO2. And it wont disappear in our lifetime. Chuck in a little radioactive acid rain, sulphuric acid, nitric acid, and air pollution and you have an unsustainable situation.

The idea that some people want us to continue putting this filth into our atmosphere so we can have all the iPhones we can eat makes me sick to the stomach. We HAVE to face up to this and find alternative methods and quickly. By 2030, it is estimated we will be using 40% more coal then we used in 2007. And with that comes all the associated carbon POLLUTION that comes with its burning. 

So sorry to you Andrew and Alan. But the prime minister is not lying when she uses the term CARBON POLLUTION. Radioactive Carbon or C14 when in a CO2 compound is NOT plant food. It is plant, and life, death.

In the last 30 years, has business in any way moved to clean up their act? No. Now though, if they do not, it will cost them right in their profit pocket. They will have to reduce and move off CO2 emitting fossil fuels(which also have all the other emissions and pollutants) or reduce the length of executive long lunches.

It is a MARKET mechanism to get them to change and they will change because these people personify the saying ‘The love of money is the root of all evil’.

Personally the Beatles take is just as good.

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A. Ghebranious  2011  (All Rights Reserved)