This past political season almost all of us voted for candidates who supported "Clean Coal," a blanket term for technologies meant to minimize the environmental impact of this fossil fuel, but the truth of the matter remains that clean coal is little more than wishful thinking. (Barack Obama and John McCain supported clean coal while Ralph Nader did not.)
Coal, which provides nearly half of our nation's electricity, is environmentally destructive in both the mining and burning stages. The further we deplete our limited coal resources, the greater the environmental impact as we attempt to mine previously inaccessible coal veins.
Coal mining produces natural disasters that dwarf other environmental catastrophes, but the public is rarely reminded of these travesties. Just this December, a toxic coal sludge spill 48 times the size of the Exxon Valdez spill blanketed part of Tennessee, releasing mercury and arsenic (among other chemicals and heavy metals) into the water supply tributaries of Chattanooga and parts of Alabama and Kentucky.
As companies attempt to access coal reserves, they have little regard for the environment. Within the last month, Powellton Coal Company began its newest project, "beheading" Gauley Mountain through mountain top removal mining.
As Gauley Mountain is located just above the confluence of the Gauley and New Rivers, the tourism and recreation draw of white water rafting will never be the same. The crash of the rapids will be drowned out by dynamite blasts, and the watersheds will fill with heavy metals.
Burning coal is equally as harmful to the environment, but advances in technology are making slow progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Still, coal is the second-largest greenhouse gas emitter, and the necessary technology is many years away. We need change now.
Here at Virginia Tech we have our own coal-powered plant, an efficient one at that, but the overreaching effect of coal mitigates the "Pollution Controls" that are currently in place. While far more efficient than other coal-fired plants, we must take that one step further.
If we are to "Invent the Future," sustainable energy must be set as a priority. As a nation, we have realized the need to embrace renewable resources, and that transition is best led by our nation's intellectual stronghold: the university.
Now is the time to embrace new technologies as market slowdowns in Europe have resulted in the fall of sustainable technology costs. In addition, the current Obama administration is committed to environmental progress and renewable energy subsidies.
As a Hokie community, we can become the first 100-percent sustainable energy campus by embracing renewable energy sources. If we were to implement wind and solar power, the campus would still require electricity from the grid at peak times, but the excess energy from sustainable sources would be sold back to the grid during off hours, negating the costs and environmental impact from the grid power usage.
Large-scale wind farms (such as those in the Midwest) are unattractive for Blacksburg because of noise and visibility concerns, but smaller wind turbines can be utilized with great benefits.
These smaller turbines are silent and are not obstructive to our Blacksburg skyline, yet still put forth considerable wattage. In addition to wind power, solar panels can be easily installed on the roofs of the many buildings here at Tech, providing silent and near invisible energy production during the majority of peak hours.
The initial cost is relatively high, but once installed, the operating cost is next to nothing for many years of energy output.
Earlier this year the Virginia Tobacco Commission set aside $100 million for renewable energy ideas in Southwest Virginia, and Obama is committed to doubling renewable energy in the next three years, so funds and subsidies are available to those who desire change.
Today I call upon the Committee on Energy and Sustainability at Virginia Tech to transition the focus of the sustainability plan from energy efficiency to renewable energy. The current and proposed changes concerning energy efficiency are not addressing the root problem.
No longer can we allow King Coal to kill our neighbors, behead our beloved mountains and contaminate our favorite recreational activities.
We can recognize and commend the efforts to make current systems more efficient, but renewable energy is the undeniable future.
