Major Coal Producer Shelves Carbon Capture Project | FDL News Desk

For years – decades? – we’ve heard about the promise of clean coal, which will allow the United States to produce its own energy and limit carbon pollution, through the promise and wonder of technology. We heard that responsible energy companies were installing carbon capture and sequestration systems right now, to make coal mining a clean and green job. we heard that we didn’t have to compromise our lifestyle or change our energy consumption habits, because we were the Saudi Arabia of coal and the big brains found out a way to make that as safe for the environment as solar and wind.

We were sold a bill of goods.

Nation's Top 'Clean Coal' Project Abandoned : TreeHugger

...the underlying trend that the plant's closure suggests is far more disturbing: Power companies sensed a wind change a couple years back, when it looked like climate laws were inevitable, and began investing in carbon emissions-reducing technology. This is a clear signal that those companies no longer fear such laws, and are shifting back to the status quo -- focusing on generating power as cheaply as possible, no matter how emissions-heavy.