Using coal to deliver wind power

 

The Ludington Daily News reports that the S.S. Badger carferry is expanding its operating season until Nov. 2 to transport wind tower parts. That means the Badger will be moving parts for building clean alternative energy while under steam provided by a power plant criticized for polluting Lake Michigan. The vessel is the last operational coal-fired steamship. It travels between Ludington Mich., and Manitowoc Wis., and is  under fire for dumping coal ash into the lake.

New multimedia report shows Chicago-Wyoming coal connection

Chicago teen Luis Vega organized a march to protest pollution from the Fisk Generation Station.

His story is part of a multi-media report documenting the impact of the nation’s dependency on coal power.

The report also shows how states swap air pollution and the connection between Wyoming’s coal mines and Chicago’s citizens.

Lower Ontario air emission standards will bring more smog to Midwest

Ontario’s coal-fired power plants are going off the grid in 2014. Until then, the provincial government has approved maximum air emission limits for the remaining plants. Canadian environmentalists and health officials aren’t pleased, according to a story from Windsor Star reporter Dave Battagello. Activists say the higher limits will “put lives at risk” and worsen the Ontario’s air quality. Windsor, Detroit’s Canadian neighbor, is already one of the most polluted parts of the province, according to the story.

Opponents of CMS plan to build coal plant not giving up the fight

(MI) Jackson Citizen Patriot – Environmental groups are continuing their fight against Consumers Energy’s plans to build a new coal plant near Bay City, outlining Thursday some of the environmental and economic impacts. The Jackson-based utility has said its planned 830-megawatt plant is expected to create 1,800 construction jobs and more than 100 permanent jobs once it begins operation in 2017. More

Special Report: Cleaning Coal

The Great Lakes states are home to 155 coal-fired power plants that discharge wastewater into local lakes and streams.  That wastewater can carry heavy metals and other dangerous contaminants, and has gone largely unregulated for the past 27 years.  Now the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is preparing to step in with new rules to fend off environmental concerns. Join the Great Lakes Echo for a four-day series unpacking the problems with power plant wastewater in the Great Lakes. Day 1. Great Lakes states spotty on coal limits; some water contaminants ignored. Day 2.

Cleaning up air could harm quality of water

By Yang Zhang and Rachael Gleason

Dec. 18, 2009

Burning coal is dirty business. The fuel is laden with heavy metals such as mercury and arsenic and chemicals that cause acid rain. When power plants burn coal, they release the contaminants into the air. Over the past couple of decades, increasingly stringent air pollution standards have forced power plants to clean up their dirty air.

Few Great Lakes power plants even look for this toxic contaminant in their waste

By Sarah Coefield
Dec. 17, 2009

Gibson Lake, built by one of the world’s largest coal-fired power plants to store wastewater, has attracted birds and fishermen to its shores for years. But after years of wastewater discharge, the Indiana lake contains high levels of selenium that threaten hundreds of species of birds, including the endangered least tern, and render fish unsafe to eat. Selenium is an essential nutrient, but in wildlife and people excess amounts can be dangerous. As with mercury, selenium monitoring and regulations are spotty across the Great Lakes region.

Mercury limits vary for Great Lakes; may harm already polluted waters

By Elisabeth Pernicone
Dec. 16, 2009

Due to its many health threats, mercury is regulated in foods, pesticides and industry.  But some coal-fired power plants in the Great Lakes region discharge mercury into water at levels hundreds of times greater than deemed safe for wildlife and up to 25 times greater than deemed safe for humans. It’s all legal, and even when it’s not, most violators are never fined. Now the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is preparing to step up its regulations of mercury and other contaminants in coal-fired power plant wastewater.