Green Options

The previous administration was hostile to science. Political appointees, who believed that the notion of global warming was a “liberal thing,” often trumped Scientist writing about global warming and the “greenhouse effect.” Attempts were made to insert Creationism into the curriculum. Funding was banned for embryonic stem cell research. The CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) neglected lead laden toys while wagging war on science education.

A U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) project called FutureGen was originally a $1 billion coal plant to produce hydrogen and test carbon capture and sequestration technology (CCS). CCS means that the carbon dioxide (CO2) - a major contributor to global warming - is captured before it’s spewed into the atmosphere and then transferred underground for storage. This is an experimental technology, and FutureGen was going to be a big test case. The DOE [...]