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6 Major Countries Have Recently Announced Plans To Phase-Out All Coal-Fired Power Plants (electrek.co)
At least 6 major countries, including Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and Finland, have all recently -- several within the past few weeks -- announced the imminent phase-out of all coal-fired power plants. Electrek reports: Earlier this week, Canada, which has already significantly reduced its use of coal to about 7% of its energy generation, announced a phase of the resource by 2030. The country's strong hydropower should keep dominating its energy generation, but the country has also been investing in wind and solar to make up the difference. A week before Canada's announcement, France announced a more aggressive timeline of 2023 for its own phase-out of coal, but it should be more easily achievable since they have already reduced the use of coal to 3% of their electricity generation -- thanks to a strong local nuclear industry. Finland is the latest country to join the group, but it also announced a more aggressive solution of simply banning entirely the use of coal to produce energy by 2030. The country gets about 12% of its electricity from coal, which it has to import. Peter Lund, a researcher at Aalto University and chair of the energy program at the European Academies' Science Advisory Council, told New Scientist: "These moves are important forerunners to enforce the recent positive signals in coal use. The more countries join the coal phase-out club, the better for the climate as this would force the others to follow." As for the U.S., it gets about 33% of its total electricity generation from coal and will likely grow the coal industry rather than phase it out under President-elect Donald Trump.
It's like every Trump hater utterly ignores what Trump actually says he will do, and just makes up in their head the worst they can imagine for any particular...
Under Trump coal use will not grow, it just will stop shrinking for a while until renewables get more cost effective. Also coal mining will ramp up again to access cleaner coal, so even the U.S. will be continuing to reduce carbon emissions just as we have been for decades now (unlike many other countries).
Windpower will decline though because wind power is the most idiotic way to generate power, if you think at all about long term viability.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Renewable energy is far more harmful to the environment than coal is. Let's consider:
1) Hydroelectric disrupts the natural flow of rivers, which has proven harmful to many species of fish that depend on the seasonal flow of water. Furthermore, there is the risk of a catastrophic dam failure. Hydroelectric power has ruined many animal habitats and led to many extinctions.
2) Solar power requires toxic chemicals and harmful emissions to produce the solar panels. Solar power is extremely dangerous to birds, many of which are cooked to death while flying over solar farms.
3) Wind turbines are deadly to birds. Slowing of the wind by harvesting it's energy also causes massive climate change as computer models have shown.
4) Geothermal power is limited in the areas in which it is a viable energy source. Furthermore, geothermal plants release toxic chemicals and carbon pollution from inside the Earth. Sequestering these pollutants back in the ground will lead to earthquakes just as fracking does.
5) Nuclear energy has the issue with spent fuel rods and the potential of catastrophic meltdowns. Despite all the precautions taken, nuclear meltdowns still do occur, which is why Europe is abandoning nuclear as an energy source.
Considering the above, fossil fuels are by far the safest and least impactful forms of energy.
Sure it is, given the current and expanding brain-drain from the USA as skilled and productive scientists and engineers escape the doom of Trump's USA, it has been promoted from "America's Hat" to "America's Brain".