Letter: Green energy better than coal-fired plants

Thursday, Sept. 20, 2007 | 7:03 a.m.

The use of green power is a better way to go for Nevada than the current plan of building additional coal-fired power plants.

The continued use of and the dependence on fossil fuels such as coal and oil are driving this country's economy down the wrong road. Not only from an environmental standpoint, but also from a practical economic standpoint. It is time that we here in Nevada, and nationwide, use less fossil fuels and rely more on renewable energy. Solar, wind and bio fuels such as ethanol come quickly to mind.

We currently import approximately 70 percent of the oil we consume and much of that oil comes from the Middle East. The continued instability of the Middle East politically keeps us between a rock and a hard place. A large-scale war in the Middle East, resulting in the disruption of the flow of oil to our shores, would be a disaster for our economy and would make us very vulnerable politically.

The only thing that can be said for building more coal-fired power plants is that we would not be importing coal to fire those plants. The United States has some of the world's largest coal reserves. Environmental concerns, however, make the continued use of coal, particularly high-sulfur coal, impractical and cost prohibitive.

The American public is willing to pay more for green power if, by paying more, we would get cleaner and renewable sources of energy.

Larry Burgess, Henderson