The EPA’s Anti-Hydrocarbon Agenda

Even though coal, oil, and natural gas provide more than eighty-five percent of America’s energy, the Obama Administration and EPA are doing all they can to inhibit this type of energy production. Meanwhile, they wholeheartedly promote wind and solar power projects that produce intermittent, unreliable electricity in exchange for massive amounts of land and government subsidies. As a result, Americans will be rewarded with higher electricity rates.

The EPA’s latest strategy to penalize coal is to point toward mercury emissions in an effort to make coal-fired generators look bad. In fact, the amount of mercury in coal power plant emissions is minimal and is absolutely dwarfed by natural sources. The only reason power plants remain the largest source of manmade mercury pollution is because it is no longer used in products like switches and thermometers.

That said, power plants only emit about 40 tons of mercury per year. This may sound like a lot, but consider first that more than this, about 45 tons annually, is put into the air by forest fires in the United States alone. Volcanoes and geysers around the world also throw thousands of tons of mercury into the atmosphere every year.

Next, let’s not forget that other countries like China also make use of coal-burning plants for electricity generation, and their plants emit anywhere from five to ten times the amount of mercury as their United States counterparts. Because there is no way to divide our atmosphere from that of other countries, mercury from these countries ends up here. Even if the U.S. had no mercury emissions, almost just as much would be in the air we breathe regardless, compliments of nature and foreign countries.

Now, let’s go back to the 40 tons of mercury coal-burning plants emit per year. After factoring in all other sources of mercury worldwide, both natural and man-made, about 9,000 tons of mercury is discharged each year. That means that United States power plants are responsible for a mere 0.5% of the mercury in the air. Is this the best reason the EPA can come up with for increased electricity rates and billions of dollars wasted on “green” energy? 

last time modified: July 15, 2011, 4:25 p.m.