Cooking Tips
No Cost
* Cook during temperate hours. Avoid preparing meals that require you to use the range or oven extensively on hot days. This helps to reduce the load on your air conditioner and makes you feel more comfortable in your home.
* Cook with a full oven. Prepare dishes together when possible. If you have three dishes to be cooked in the oven at slightly different temperatures (325°F, 350°F and 375°F, for example), pick the average temperature (350°F in this case) to cook all three.
* Don't peek. Every time you open the oven door to look at the food, the oven temperature is lowered by 25°F to 75°F. Use a timer if the oven door does not have a window.
* Keep oven and burners clean and kitchen ventilated. A clean oven uses energy more efficiently.
* Minimize or eliminate preheating. Don't preheat the oven if the food requires more than one hour of cooking time.
* Use cooking time wisely. Turn off the electric range two to three minutes before the task is done and allow the residual heat to finish the job.
* Use leftover heat as a food warmer. Turn off oven immediately when finished cooking. Ovens retain heat for up to 30 minutes after they have been turned off.
* Use microwave ovens to save energy. Microwave ovens are about 33% more efficient than convection ovens and 66% more efficient than conventional ovens.
* Use pots and pans that fit the burners. Pans that fit a burner absorb more of the energy, reducing the amount of heat that is lost.
* Use the broiler when possible. The broiler uses less energy, and preheating is not required.
Low Cost
* Double your recipe — and freeze half for later. Reheating uses less energy.
Good Investment
* Choose a stove range with burners that fit a variety of pan sizes. Energy is wasted if you use a small pan on a large burner.
* Electric ranges containing ceramic, halogen or induction range elements are more efficient than the type containing electric coils. They are also easier to clean and allow for greater temperature control.
* Select a self-cleaning oven. It's better insulated than other models, so they are more energy-efficient when used appropriately.
* Select ovens with windows. This allows you to check food without opening the door. Look for self-cleaning features (ensures additional insulation) and electronic or programmable models with timers (for a more precise use of cooking energy).
* Use convection units in combination with conventional ovens. This combination cooks faster at lower temperatures.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Heating & Cooling Tips
Heating & Cooling Tips
No Cost
* Check the settings on the room air conditioner. Make sure the "fresh air" vent on the air conditioner is closed so you are not cooling outside air.
* Close drapes, blinds and shades to keep sun's rays out of the home during the warmer months.
* Close drapes, blinds and shades to help retain heat at night or during unoccupied periods.
* In the winter, reverse your ceiling fan motor so that the blades push air up toward the ceiling, where hot air normally rises. The fan will drive the warm air back down around the edges of the room, which can result in more even heating. Better heat circulation will help combat the problem of sweating windows that some homes experience in the wintertime because of condensation on the glass.
* Keep the fireplace damper closed when the fireplace is not in use. Closing the damper prevents up to 8% of furnace-heated air from going up the chimney. If the fireplace is never used, the damper should be sealed with weather-stripping and the chimney stuffed with fiberglass insulation. Remove this material from the chimney before a fire is lit in the fireplace.
* Move the room air conditioner. If possible, put the air conditioner in a north-facing or shaded window; direct sunlight reduces efficiency. Remove and store the air conditioner during the winter rather than keeping it in the window.
* Set the temperature lower in the winter when your home is unoccupied. Use a programmable thermostat to automatically lower and raise the temperature according to your settings.
* Set the thermostat as low as comfortably possible in the winter. The less difference between the indoor and outdoor temperatures, the lower your overall heating bill will be.
Low Cost
* Clean furnace filters monthly. Dirty filters restrict airflow and increase energy use. Keep the furnace clean, lubricated and properly adjusted to save up to 5% of heating costs.
* Install an ENERGY STAR programmable thermostat away from natural cool and hot spots. An ENERGY STAR thermostat can save as much as $115 per year, provide more flexibility than standard models and perform one or more of the following functions: Save and repeat multiple daily settings, which you can change when needed without affecting the rest of the daily or weekly program; store four or more temperature settings a day; and adjust heating or air conditioning turn-on times as the outside temperature changes.
* Remove and clean room air conditioner filters monthly. Dirty filters reduce the efficiency of the air conditioner.
Good Investment
* Consider installing a whole house fan. An attic whole house fan draws cooler air into the home and forces hot air out through attic vents. Use it when the air is cool outside, such as in the early morning. Whole house fans typically use about one-third of the electricity of a central air conditioner.
* Consider installing a whole-house evaporative cooler if you live in a dry climate. An evaporative cooler uses as much as 75% less electricity as an air conditioner, saving approximately $150 a year. For hotter desert climates, the savings can be much more.
* Consider planting trees and shrubs in strategic locations to help reduce the temperature and airflow in your house. Deciduous trees planted on the west and south sides of your home help to keep the house shaded during the season's peak heating times.
* Fireplace inserts or wood stoves are available to fit into an existing fireplace. These inserts are equipped with glass or metal doors, outside combustion air vents, and heat circulation blowers. Fireplace inserts dramatically improve fireplace efficiency by blowing heat from the fire into the room and limiting the amount of heat and conditioned air lost up the chimney. Fireplace inserts are recommended for fireplaces that are regularly used. Before installing a fireplace insert, be sure to check the manufacturer's safety specifications and make sure the fireplace insert is compatible with the existing chimney or vent flue.
* If you use electricity to heat your home, consider installing an energy-efficient heat pump system. Heat pumps are the most efficient form of electric heating in moderate climates, providing up to three times more heating than the equivalent amount of electrical energy it consumes. A heat pump cools your home by collecting the heat inside your house and effectively pumping it outside. A heat pump can trim the amount of electricity you use for heating as much as 30 to 40%.
* If your furnace is more than 15 years old, replace it with an ENERGY STAR qualified furnace, which is 15% more efficient than a conventional furnace. If you have a boiler, consider replacing it with an ENERGY STAR qualified boiler that is 10% more efficient than a new, standard model.
* If your heat pump is more than 10 years old, replace it with an ENERGY STAR heat pump, which uses at least 20% less energy than a standard new model.
* If your old central air conditioner is more than 10 years old, consider replacing it with an ENERGY STAR model, which uses 20% less energy than a standard new model. Look for a SEER rating of at least 12.
* If your room air conditioner unit is more than 10 years old, consider replacing it with an ENERGY STAR room air conditioner, which uses at least 10% less energy than a standard new model. Select the unit with the highest Energy Efficiency Ratio (EER) for greater savings. Ask a trained salesperson for help choosing the size that's right for your needs.
* Install glass doors on fireplaces, which act as a barrier against warmed air returning up the chimney. Some models of glass doors are equipped with small vents along the bottom or sides to allow a controlled amount of combustion airflow into the fireplace. The glass allows the heat from the fire to radiate into the room. Because glass doors reduce the amount of conditioned air that is drawn up the chimney, they also reduce infiltration of outside air into the home.
* Look for a room air conditioner with a filter that slides out easily for regular cleaning. Clean filters help keep the unit in good working condition.
* When buying an air conditioner, enlist the services of a qualified technician to ensure your unit is properly sized and installed for your home/building. A unit that is too large will not only cost you more up front, but will actually work less efficiently, costing you more to operate over its lifetime.
No Cost
* Check the settings on the room air conditioner. Make sure the "fresh air" vent on the air conditioner is closed so you are not cooling outside air.
* Close drapes, blinds and shades to keep sun's rays out of the home during the warmer months.
* Close drapes, blinds and shades to help retain heat at night or during unoccupied periods.
* In the winter, reverse your ceiling fan motor so that the blades push air up toward the ceiling, where hot air normally rises. The fan will drive the warm air back down around the edges of the room, which can result in more even heating. Better heat circulation will help combat the problem of sweating windows that some homes experience in the wintertime because of condensation on the glass.
* Keep the fireplace damper closed when the fireplace is not in use. Closing the damper prevents up to 8% of furnace-heated air from going up the chimney. If the fireplace is never used, the damper should be sealed with weather-stripping and the chimney stuffed with fiberglass insulation. Remove this material from the chimney before a fire is lit in the fireplace.
* Move the room air conditioner. If possible, put the air conditioner in a north-facing or shaded window; direct sunlight reduces efficiency. Remove and store the air conditioner during the winter rather than keeping it in the window.
* Set the temperature lower in the winter when your home is unoccupied. Use a programmable thermostat to automatically lower and raise the temperature according to your settings.
* Set the thermostat as low as comfortably possible in the winter. The less difference between the indoor and outdoor temperatures, the lower your overall heating bill will be.
Low Cost
* Clean furnace filters monthly. Dirty filters restrict airflow and increase energy use. Keep the furnace clean, lubricated and properly adjusted to save up to 5% of heating costs.
* Install an ENERGY STAR programmable thermostat away from natural cool and hot spots. An ENERGY STAR thermostat can save as much as $115 per year, provide more flexibility than standard models and perform one or more of the following functions: Save and repeat multiple daily settings, which you can change when needed without affecting the rest of the daily or weekly program; store four or more temperature settings a day; and adjust heating or air conditioning turn-on times as the outside temperature changes.
* Remove and clean room air conditioner filters monthly. Dirty filters reduce the efficiency of the air conditioner.
Good Investment
* Consider installing a whole house fan. An attic whole house fan draws cooler air into the home and forces hot air out through attic vents. Use it when the air is cool outside, such as in the early morning. Whole house fans typically use about one-third of the electricity of a central air conditioner.
* Consider installing a whole-house evaporative cooler if you live in a dry climate. An evaporative cooler uses as much as 75% less electricity as an air conditioner, saving approximately $150 a year. For hotter desert climates, the savings can be much more.
* Consider planting trees and shrubs in strategic locations to help reduce the temperature and airflow in your house. Deciduous trees planted on the west and south sides of your home help to keep the house shaded during the season's peak heating times.
* Fireplace inserts or wood stoves are available to fit into an existing fireplace. These inserts are equipped with glass or metal doors, outside combustion air vents, and heat circulation blowers. Fireplace inserts dramatically improve fireplace efficiency by blowing heat from the fire into the room and limiting the amount of heat and conditioned air lost up the chimney. Fireplace inserts are recommended for fireplaces that are regularly used. Before installing a fireplace insert, be sure to check the manufacturer's safety specifications and make sure the fireplace insert is compatible with the existing chimney or vent flue.
* If you use electricity to heat your home, consider installing an energy-efficient heat pump system. Heat pumps are the most efficient form of electric heating in moderate climates, providing up to three times more heating than the equivalent amount of electrical energy it consumes. A heat pump cools your home by collecting the heat inside your house and effectively pumping it outside. A heat pump can trim the amount of electricity you use for heating as much as 30 to 40%.
* If your furnace is more than 15 years old, replace it with an ENERGY STAR qualified furnace, which is 15% more efficient than a conventional furnace. If you have a boiler, consider replacing it with an ENERGY STAR qualified boiler that is 10% more efficient than a new, standard model.
* If your heat pump is more than 10 years old, replace it with an ENERGY STAR heat pump, which uses at least 20% less energy than a standard new model.
* If your old central air conditioner is more than 10 years old, consider replacing it with an ENERGY STAR model, which uses 20% less energy than a standard new model. Look for a SEER rating of at least 12.
* If your room air conditioner unit is more than 10 years old, consider replacing it with an ENERGY STAR room air conditioner, which uses at least 10% less energy than a standard new model. Select the unit with the highest Energy Efficiency Ratio (EER) for greater savings. Ask a trained salesperson for help choosing the size that's right for your needs.
* Install glass doors on fireplaces, which act as a barrier against warmed air returning up the chimney. Some models of glass doors are equipped with small vents along the bottom or sides to allow a controlled amount of combustion airflow into the fireplace. The glass allows the heat from the fire to radiate into the room. Because glass doors reduce the amount of conditioned air that is drawn up the chimney, they also reduce infiltration of outside air into the home.
* Look for a room air conditioner with a filter that slides out easily for regular cleaning. Clean filters help keep the unit in good working condition.
* When buying an air conditioner, enlist the services of a qualified technician to ensure your unit is properly sized and installed for your home/building. A unit that is too large will not only cost you more up front, but will actually work less efficiently, costing you more to operate over its lifetime.
Climate threat to biodiversity
Climate threat to biodiversity
by: BBC 24 October 2007
The temperatures are within the range of greenhouse phases early in the Earth's history when up to 95% of plants and animals died out, they say.
Experts examined the link between climate and diversity over 520 million years, almost the entire fossil record.
They found that global diversity is high during cool (icehouse) periods and low during warm (greenhouse) phases.
"Our results provide the first clear evidence that global climate may explain substantial variation in the fossil record in a simple and consistent manner," said Dr Peter Mayhew, one of the paper's co-authors.
"If our results hold for current warming, the magnitude of which is comparable with the long-term fluctuations in the Earth's climate, they suggest that extinctions will increase."
Warmer, wetter
The study by researchers from the Universites of York and Leeds, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, compared data sets on marine and land diversity against estimates of sea surface temperatures for the same period.
They found that four out of the five mass extinction events on Earth are associated with greenhouse phases (warmer, wetter conditions) rather than icehouse phases (cold, dry conditions).
These include Earth's worst mass extinction 251 million years ago when some 95% of all species were lost.
"We could - at worst - be experiencing that in the next century - only a few human generations down the line," Dr Mayhew told BBC News.
"We need to know why temperatures and extinctions are linked in this way."
by: BBC 24 October 2007
The temperatures are within the range of greenhouse phases early in the Earth's history when up to 95% of plants and animals died out, they say.
Experts examined the link between climate and diversity over 520 million years, almost the entire fossil record.
They found that global diversity is high during cool (icehouse) periods and low during warm (greenhouse) phases.
"Our results provide the first clear evidence that global climate may explain substantial variation in the fossil record in a simple and consistent manner," said Dr Peter Mayhew, one of the paper's co-authors.
"If our results hold for current warming, the magnitude of which is comparable with the long-term fluctuations in the Earth's climate, they suggest that extinctions will increase."
Warmer, wetter
The study by researchers from the Universites of York and Leeds, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, compared data sets on marine and land diversity against estimates of sea surface temperatures for the same period.
They found that four out of the five mass extinction events on Earth are associated with greenhouse phases (warmer, wetter conditions) rather than icehouse phases (cold, dry conditions).
These include Earth's worst mass extinction 251 million years ago when some 95% of all species were lost.
"We could - at worst - be experiencing that in the next century - only a few human generations down the line," Dr Mayhew told BBC News.
"We need to know why temperatures and extinctions are linked in this way."
Coal use grows despite warming worries
Coal use grows despite warming worries
by: Elaine Kurtenbach 28 October 2007
Almost nonstop, gargantuan 145-ton trucks rumble through China's biggest open-pit coal mine, sending up clouds of soot as they dump their loads into mechanized sorters.
The black treasure has transformed this once-isolated crossroads nestled in the sand-sculpted ravines of Inner Mongolia into a bleak boomtown of nearly 300,000 people. Day and night, long and dusty trains haul out coal to electric power plants and factories in the east, fueling China's explosive growth.
Coal is big, and getting bigger. As oil and natural gas prices soar, the world is relying ever more on the cheap, black-burning mainstay of the Industrial Revolution. Mining companies are racing into Africa. Workers are laying miles of new railroad track to haul coal from the Powder River Basin in Wyoming and Montana.
And nowhere is coal bigger than in China.
But the explosion of coal comes amid rising alarm over its dire consequences for workers and the environment. An average of 13 Chinese miners die every day in explosions, floods, fires and cave-ins. Toxic clouds of mercury and other chemicals from mining are poisoning the air and water far beyond China's borders and polluting the food chain.
So far, attempts to clean up coal have largely not worked. Technology to reduce or cut out carbon dioxide emissions is expensive and years away from widespread commercial use.
"Not very many people are talking about what do we do to live with the consequences of what's happening," said James Brock, a longtime industry consultant in the Beijing office of Cambridge Energy Research Associates. "The polar bears are doomed — they're going to museums. At the end of this century the Arctic ice cap will be gone. That means a lot of water rising, not by inches but meters."
Burned since ancient times, coal dramatically increased in use during the Industrial Revolution, when it became fuel for the new steam engines, gas lamps and electrical generators. Worldwide demand for coal dipped at the end of the 20th century, but is now back up and projected to rise 60 percent by 2030 to 6.9 billion tons a year, according to the International Energy Agency.
Today, most coal goes to electrical power plants. In developing nations such as India, China and Africa, coal is the staple — and affordable — source of fuel with which families run their first washing machines and televisions. Worldwide electricity consumption is expected to double by 2030, the World Energy Council says.
In America, about 150 new coal-fired electrical plants are proposed over the next decade. In China, there are plans for a coal-fired power plant to go on line nearly every week. Emissions from these plants alone could nullify the cuts made by Europe, Japan and other rich nations under the Kyoto Protocol treaty, according to a report from the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington.
In a developing country like China, coal is the backbone of the energy system.
Look at the port city of Shanghai, where the bitter tang in the air is not from salty sea breeze — it's the smoke from coal-burning stoves in the suburbs used for cooking and heating. From the shacks of migrant workers on the edge of town to modern factories and skyscrapers, China's biggest city is powered by coal. Even the ultramodern Maglev railway line runs on electricity from a coal-fueled plant.
China mined a record 2.4 billion tons of coal in 2006, up 8.1 percent from a year earlier. But even that can't keep boilers and blast furnaces stoked in an economy growing more than 10 percent a year. So China became a net coal importer for the first time this year. While Chinese authorities are closing down older, heavily polluting plants, they can't keep up with a massive expansion in urban housing and industry and the coal that feeds them.
China is the world's biggest consumer and producer of coal, but it's far from the only one. U.S. coal production hit a record 1.2 billion tons last year, according to the National Mining Association, and is forecast by the government to rise 50 percent by 2030. Yet the United States rejected the Kyoto Protocol, arguing that the required emissions cuts could slow economic growth.
For another measure, look at the ticker on the Web site of St. Louis-based Peabody Coal Co., the world's largest coal mining company, which tracks its growing sales second by second. Last year: 248 million tons sold. For 2007: On track for up to 275 million tons.
China's Shenhua Group is hot on Peabody's heels. On one day in June, a record 111 Shenhua coal trains left its mines in north-central China, the company said.
Rising demand can be met because coal is the Earth's most abundant fossil fuel, with reserves expected to last some 250 years — far longer than forecasts for petroleum. And whether in China, India, the United States or Europe, coal is available at home, away from the instability of the Middle East.
"The U.S. has under its own soil at least a 200-year supply of coal. China has a very long-term supply of coal," Steve Papermaster, co-chairman of the energy committee of President Bush's Council of Advisers on Science and Technology, told a recent conference in Shanghai.
For several years, cleaner burning natural gas appeared a promising substitute. But soaring prices and worries over the reliability of Mideast and Russian supplies have dimmed the promise of that option. Alternatives such as wind and solar power are getting cheaper but still can't compete with coal.
Most experts believe that whatever the costs to the environment and public health, coal is with us to stay.
"The question is not about putting a line through coal and saying we're not going to use it," said Milton Catelin, chief executive of the London-based World Coal Institute, an industry association. "There's a future for coal. The developing world will have to use coal. They need cheap energy to get ahead."
The solution Catelin and others in the industry are pushing is clean technology, although they admit they are late to the game.
"The decade 1997-2007 was a lost decade" for clean coal technology, Catelin conceded. "We should have done much more. Now we're playing catch-up."
The need is clear. In the provincial steel town of Baotou, trucks heaped high with coal rumble into Shenhua yards, dumping their loads into huge sieves for sorting into various grades of quality and size. Wind gusts whip black soot into the sky, thickening the layer of smog from the city's smelters.
The U.S. and Chinese governments are subsidizing the development of technology that converts coal to a clean-burning gas before it is burned. But such plants still emit ample amounts of carbon dioxide, notes Qian Jingjing, an expert with the Natural Resources Defense Council in New York and co-author of the report "Coal in a Changing Climate."
She and many other experts believe coal can only be made environmentally sustainable through the more experimental technology of capturing carbon dioxide emissions and storing them underground.
A joint government-private project in the United States aims to build such a "zero emissions" plant by 2012. Separately, Xcel Corp. of Minneapolis, a major electric and natural gas utility, is studying building a carbon capture and storage power plant in Colorado.
Across the Atlantic, the European Union may require carbon capture and storage systems for all new coal-fired power plants, with a proposal expected by year end. The gas would be buried in aquifers, depleted coal mines or geological faults deep underground.
But the costs are daunting.
"It takes a lot of money since you have to go so deep," said Brock of Cambridge Energy Research Associates. "There is not one commercial carbon capture and storage project yet. It's yet to be proven."
With such high costs, few utilities will embrace these technologies without a strong push or subsidy from government. The U.S. Congress is weighing several proposals, but their fate remains uncertain.
The degree of public support for such policies remains unclear. Consumers may balk at having to pay more for electricity from "clean coal" plants, either through higher rates or taxes.
But there is growing awareness of the problem. In both the West and India and China, traditional utilities and new players are investing in wind and solar power. A subsidiary of coal giant Shenhua is building a 200-megawatt wind farm in the waters off China's east coast.
"The goal is to raise both efficiency and turn to renewables while backing out of coal in the process," said Lester Brown, president of the Earth Policy Institute, an environmental think tank in Washington. "The question is, can we move fast enough?"
Meanwhile, in Jungar Qi, the house-sized mine trucks rumble on, rushing their multi-ton loads of coal to railways and coal yards. The biggest landmark in the city — the two huge smokestacks of its coal-fired power plant.
by: Elaine Kurtenbach 28 October 2007
Almost nonstop, gargantuan 145-ton trucks rumble through China's biggest open-pit coal mine, sending up clouds of soot as they dump their loads into mechanized sorters.
The black treasure has transformed this once-isolated crossroads nestled in the sand-sculpted ravines of Inner Mongolia into a bleak boomtown of nearly 300,000 people. Day and night, long and dusty trains haul out coal to electric power plants and factories in the east, fueling China's explosive growth.
Coal is big, and getting bigger. As oil and natural gas prices soar, the world is relying ever more on the cheap, black-burning mainstay of the Industrial Revolution. Mining companies are racing into Africa. Workers are laying miles of new railroad track to haul coal from the Powder River Basin in Wyoming and Montana.
And nowhere is coal bigger than in China.
But the explosion of coal comes amid rising alarm over its dire consequences for workers and the environment. An average of 13 Chinese miners die every day in explosions, floods, fires and cave-ins. Toxic clouds of mercury and other chemicals from mining are poisoning the air and water far beyond China's borders and polluting the food chain.
So far, attempts to clean up coal have largely not worked. Technology to reduce or cut out carbon dioxide emissions is expensive and years away from widespread commercial use.
"Not very many people are talking about what do we do to live with the consequences of what's happening," said James Brock, a longtime industry consultant in the Beijing office of Cambridge Energy Research Associates. "The polar bears are doomed — they're going to museums. At the end of this century the Arctic ice cap will be gone. That means a lot of water rising, not by inches but meters."
Burned since ancient times, coal dramatically increased in use during the Industrial Revolution, when it became fuel for the new steam engines, gas lamps and electrical generators. Worldwide demand for coal dipped at the end of the 20th century, but is now back up and projected to rise 60 percent by 2030 to 6.9 billion tons a year, according to the International Energy Agency.
Today, most coal goes to electrical power plants. In developing nations such as India, China and Africa, coal is the staple — and affordable — source of fuel with which families run their first washing machines and televisions. Worldwide electricity consumption is expected to double by 2030, the World Energy Council says.
In America, about 150 new coal-fired electrical plants are proposed over the next decade. In China, there are plans for a coal-fired power plant to go on line nearly every week. Emissions from these plants alone could nullify the cuts made by Europe, Japan and other rich nations under the Kyoto Protocol treaty, according to a report from the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington.
In a developing country like China, coal is the backbone of the energy system.
Look at the port city of Shanghai, where the bitter tang in the air is not from salty sea breeze — it's the smoke from coal-burning stoves in the suburbs used for cooking and heating. From the shacks of migrant workers on the edge of town to modern factories and skyscrapers, China's biggest city is powered by coal. Even the ultramodern Maglev railway line runs on electricity from a coal-fueled plant.
China mined a record 2.4 billion tons of coal in 2006, up 8.1 percent from a year earlier. But even that can't keep boilers and blast furnaces stoked in an economy growing more than 10 percent a year. So China became a net coal importer for the first time this year. While Chinese authorities are closing down older, heavily polluting plants, they can't keep up with a massive expansion in urban housing and industry and the coal that feeds them.
China is the world's biggest consumer and producer of coal, but it's far from the only one. U.S. coal production hit a record 1.2 billion tons last year, according to the National Mining Association, and is forecast by the government to rise 50 percent by 2030. Yet the United States rejected the Kyoto Protocol, arguing that the required emissions cuts could slow economic growth.
For another measure, look at the ticker on the Web site of St. Louis-based Peabody Coal Co., the world's largest coal mining company, which tracks its growing sales second by second. Last year: 248 million tons sold. For 2007: On track for up to 275 million tons.
China's Shenhua Group is hot on Peabody's heels. On one day in June, a record 111 Shenhua coal trains left its mines in north-central China, the company said.
Rising demand can be met because coal is the Earth's most abundant fossil fuel, with reserves expected to last some 250 years — far longer than forecasts for petroleum. And whether in China, India, the United States or Europe, coal is available at home, away from the instability of the Middle East.
"The U.S. has under its own soil at least a 200-year supply of coal. China has a very long-term supply of coal," Steve Papermaster, co-chairman of the energy committee of President Bush's Council of Advisers on Science and Technology, told a recent conference in Shanghai.
For several years, cleaner burning natural gas appeared a promising substitute. But soaring prices and worries over the reliability of Mideast and Russian supplies have dimmed the promise of that option. Alternatives such as wind and solar power are getting cheaper but still can't compete with coal.
Most experts believe that whatever the costs to the environment and public health, coal is with us to stay.
"The question is not about putting a line through coal and saying we're not going to use it," said Milton Catelin, chief executive of the London-based World Coal Institute, an industry association. "There's a future for coal. The developing world will have to use coal. They need cheap energy to get ahead."
The solution Catelin and others in the industry are pushing is clean technology, although they admit they are late to the game.
"The decade 1997-2007 was a lost decade" for clean coal technology, Catelin conceded. "We should have done much more. Now we're playing catch-up."
The need is clear. In the provincial steel town of Baotou, trucks heaped high with coal rumble into Shenhua yards, dumping their loads into huge sieves for sorting into various grades of quality and size. Wind gusts whip black soot into the sky, thickening the layer of smog from the city's smelters.
The U.S. and Chinese governments are subsidizing the development of technology that converts coal to a clean-burning gas before it is burned. But such plants still emit ample amounts of carbon dioxide, notes Qian Jingjing, an expert with the Natural Resources Defense Council in New York and co-author of the report "Coal in a Changing Climate."
She and many other experts believe coal can only be made environmentally sustainable through the more experimental technology of capturing carbon dioxide emissions and storing them underground.
A joint government-private project in the United States aims to build such a "zero emissions" plant by 2012. Separately, Xcel Corp. of Minneapolis, a major electric and natural gas utility, is studying building a carbon capture and storage power plant in Colorado.
Across the Atlantic, the European Union may require carbon capture and storage systems for all new coal-fired power plants, with a proposal expected by year end. The gas would be buried in aquifers, depleted coal mines or geological faults deep underground.
But the costs are daunting.
"It takes a lot of money since you have to go so deep," said Brock of Cambridge Energy Research Associates. "There is not one commercial carbon capture and storage project yet. It's yet to be proven."
With such high costs, few utilities will embrace these technologies without a strong push or subsidy from government. The U.S. Congress is weighing several proposals, but their fate remains uncertain.
The degree of public support for such policies remains unclear. Consumers may balk at having to pay more for electricity from "clean coal" plants, either through higher rates or taxes.
But there is growing awareness of the problem. In both the West and India and China, traditional utilities and new players are investing in wind and solar power. A subsidiary of coal giant Shenhua is building a 200-megawatt wind farm in the waters off China's east coast.
"The goal is to raise both efficiency and turn to renewables while backing out of coal in the process," said Lester Brown, president of the Earth Policy Institute, an environmental think tank in Washington. "The question is, can we move fast enough?"
Meanwhile, in Jungar Qi, the house-sized mine trucks rumble on, rushing their multi-ton loads of coal to railways and coal yards. The biggest landmark in the city — the two huge smokestacks of its coal-fired power plant.
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