A Reader's Comment

(Below is a very interesting email from Bert who read my article, "Misinformation on Coal", in the The News Today.)

Dear Mr. Seruelo,

This article solidifies the undeniable concern of the hazards coal power plants could potentially bring to the City of Iloilo. What is baffling is that proponents would use anything and everything to justify something that is horribly wrong. Why can't they just put their time and energy to solicit other environmentally friendly power sources?

- - - -

Kansas Rejects Proposed Coal Plant
October 19, 2007

Because Of CO2 Emissions The Kansas Department of Health and Environment has become the first government agency in the U.S. to cite carbon dioxide emissions as the reason for rejecting an air permit for a coal-fired electricity generating plant, The Washington Post reports. Sunflower Electric Power, a rural electrical cooperative, proposed to build a pair of 700-megawatt, coal-fired plants in Holcomb at a cost of about $3.6 billion.

It may be the first of a series of similar state actions inspired by a Supreme Court decision in April that asserted that greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide should be considered pollutants under the Clean Air Act.Air permits have been denied over emissions such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and mercury, according to WaPo. But Roderick Bremby, secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, said that “it would be irresponsible to ignore emerging information about the contribution of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to climate change and the potential harm to our environment and health if we do nothing.”

- - - -

Didn't any of the member of the 10 man task force of Mayor Trenas pay attention to this article circulated in one of the local newspaper in Iloilo? One of the panellists is a Professor from UPV and the current Vice Mayor is a UPV alumni - what else can they have missed? Where is the UP spirit of doing what's right vs. what is easier?

Another panel member is a priest who is fond of perpuating that coal plants are acceptable in the United States - doesn't he realize that he is not the only one who have been to the United States? If there is no such concern, why is it then that the US Government is spending a lot of money to clean up the environmental mess brought about by coal powered plants? He is a proponent of the filtration system being offered by the builder! What is his guarantee that the standards would be followed diligently? Unfortunately, he forgot that we are a country who do not have the kind of discipline to implement most standards. We cannot even manage the cleanliness of our streets and rivers!

I do not understand why a certain politician/doctor champions the installation of a coal powered plant in Iloilo when he cannot even convince his constituents to put up one in their own town?

What about the Mayor of Iloilo who is blinded by political paybacks that he is willing to be remembered as the mayor who brought about the environmental doom of Iloilo.

The Liga ng mga Barangay president who arrogantly says "How come the people of Cebu are still alive despite the installation of coal power plants in their city?". Here's your answer based on the article below - it takes years before you will feel the hazardous effects. Who will foot the bill for the clean-up and the medical expenses?

- - - -

US-based Ilongga expert issues word of caution on coal plants
By Ronilo L. Pamonag

A US-based Ilongga expert on coal power plants advised proponents of a coal-fired power plant to look for other alternatives, as she expressed concern over the potential ill effects on the populace.

“We have to look for alternative fuel without the hazardous emissions. Try to think of other alternatives,” chemical engineer Erlinda Palmos, formerly a technical advisor with the US Department of Energy and now the manager of the US Navy’s Environment Safety and Health Management, said during a press conference Monday afternoon.

We have hydro-electric and geothermal sources of energy, why don’t we maximize their potential, she said. Coal, she adds, is a dirty raw material. She stressed though that she is neither for nor against the proposal of Global Business Power Corporation to put up a coal-fired power plant in Brgy. Ingore, Lapaz, Iloilo City, but expressed uneasiness that the proposed site is very near residential communities.

The GBPC has been lobbying for a coal-fired power plant in the City to address what they claim is the predicted power shortage by 2010.

Palmos also advised proponents to look for other sites, and come up with a deeper, more comprehensive, and accurate feasibility study.

In the United States, she said, coal power plants are located away from communities to minimize the effect of emissions on the people caused by changes in the wind pattern.

Moreover, the present trend in the US is against coal plants, and more for nuclear power plants. Many coal plants in the US are closing because they are having a hard time complying with federal and state environmental regulations. “That’s why they’re training their eyes on third world countries,” she said.

In fact, when she was still with the DoE, she ordered the closure of one coal plant for exceeding emission levels, Palmos relates.

The study, she suggested, should include toxicology data, as well as the instrumentation used and the process followed.They are planning to put up a coal-fired power plant but their Environmental Impact Study is about diesel power plants, she noted, referring to GBPC’s EIS.

Coal is different from diesel, she pointed out. She highlighted the need to ensure that environmental laws, especially regulations on emissions and waste disposal, are complied with, and that there is a standard operating procedure governing the regular preventive maintenance of the plant.

“Are they willing to spend huge amounts just to ensure that toxic elements are not released into the environment?” she asked.For the first two years of operation, a coal power plant will not yet experience problems with its emissions. But as years go by, problems regarding toxic emissions would crop up, she said.

- - - -

I applaud your conviction in writing "Misinformation on Coal". I pray that the people of Iloilo would be guided to oppose the installation of the coal powered plant in Iloilo.

Sincerely,

Bert Rosal