As shown in the video below, submitted by Gary Tulie, Harvard University reports that coal dust and the exhaust from coal-fired power plants killed at least 460,000 people over the last 20 years.
Where we tend to think of coal-powered electricity as a principal cause of climate change and other forms of long-term environmental damage, we often overlook the devastation in causes to human life–and the families of those lost to lung disease. What about the impact on the children who now grow up fatherless and/or motherless?
The title of this post implies that it’s possible to ascribe a dollar-figure to this enormous catastrophe, and I suppose it is. If there were a series of class-action lawsuits, there would be gaggles of actuaries in insurance companies with huge spreadsheets running what-if calculations.
But in this case, no one’s paying. The atmosphere is simply a sewer that the operators of coal plants dump their effluent–for free, regardless of the damage.
What Krishnamurti says at left reminds us of the direction that essentially everything takes in human civilization. What once was pure eventually becomes adulterated and monetized.
The most egregious example of this is how the wealthiest human beings on Earth have decided to ruin the planet with carbon emissions–simply so they can make even more money.
It’s great to see the ongoing protests against the criminality of the Trump administration.
Renewable Energy
It Took Centuries for the U.S. to Build Its International Friendships, but Just 18 Months for Trump to Destroy Them
At left we see the words of the Premier of British Columbia, expressing his sorrow for the incredible pace at which the United States has destroyed its relationships with its allies.
Of course, this is no big deal to Trump supporters, many of whom couldn’t find British Columbia on a map.
-
Climate Change11 months ago
Guest post: Why China is still building new coal – and when it might stop
-
Greenhouse Gases11 months ago
Guest post: Why China is still building new coal – and when it might stop
-
Greenhouse Gases2 years ago嘉宾来稿：满足中国增长的用电需求 光伏加储能“比新建煤电更实惠”
-
Climate Change2 years ago嘉宾来稿：满足中国增长的用电需求 光伏加储能“比新建煤电更实惠”
-
Climate Change2 years ago
Bill Discounting Climate Change in Florida’s Energy Policy Awaits DeSantis’ Approval
-
Renewable Energy9 months agoSending Progressive Philanthropist George Soros to Prison?
-
Carbon Footprint2 years agoUS SEC’s Climate Disclosure Rules Spur Renewed Interest in Carbon Credits
-
Greenhouse Gases1 year ago
嘉宾来稿：探究火山喷发如何影响气候预测