Michael Tobis wrote:
> I'm not familiar with it in detail, though I have heard rumors of
> "clean coal" strategies.
>
> I am **very** happy with any prospective technology that leaves the
> fossil fuel interests with a way to make money without putting carbon
> in the atmosphere. If they have that, they will be much less motivated
> to disrupt the public's perceptions of the issues.
>
> What I'm puzzling over is whether there is any way to set things up so
> that it is worth more to them to leave the fuel in the ground than to
> use it up.
>
> What I realized, at a rather awkward moment, was that unless and until
> we can take the coal sector's legitimate interests into account, there
> will be organized obfuscation and opposition.
>
> This is not to say that I approve of their support of malicious
> propaganda, nor am I comfortable with rewarding it. However, I can see
> that their motivation is too strong to shut off the supply of
> misinformation until they are presented with a way out. So, while we
> must keep doing our damnedest to fight the lies, the big picture
> solution is to set things up so that the motivation to lie goes away.
>
> What is the engineering status of "clean coal"?
>
Further ahead than you think, not as far advanced as is needed. The
base problem is that the stuff is too cheap and plentiful so there have
to be external forcings to move to cleaner technology. The in situ
stuff (blow steam down into a coal seam) is not near reality, although
sucking methane out of a seam appears closer to being practical
(Bitumous coals lock up a considerable amount of methane which can be
freed by heat.)
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