|
About | Contact | Mongabay on Facebook | Mongabay on Twitter | Free newsletter |
|
|
One company behind U.S.'s top three biggest greenhouse gas emitters Jeremy Hance mongabay.com January 16, 2012
The EPA's report listed the top 100 "big emissions sources" in U.S., 96 of which were power plants. The top 20 were largely made up of coal plants. Another company, American Electric Power, also owned three coal-fired plants in the top 20. For its part, Southern Company told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that their emissions are "indicative" of their power plants "being among the nation's largest generators of electricity," adding that, "Southern Company complies with all environmental regulations and supports transparency in emissions reporting. The company is a leader in environmental research, development and implementation." Southern company serves around 4 million people. In 2014 the corporation is opening a new coal plant in Mississippi that will reportedly capture 60 percent of its greenhouse gas emissions. According to its records Southern Company spent over $8 million in lobbying the U.S. government last year. A profile of the company on OpenSecrets.org, run by nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, reads "Southern has been one of the biggest proponents for electricity deregulation" and "gives most of its money to Republicans." Not only is burning coal one of the most significant inputs of global greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, it also has major impacts on human health and on water and land pollution. A recent study found that the hidden environmental and health costs of coal on U.S. society reached $523 billion annually—that's $1,698 per person in the U.S. every year. "This is not borne by the coal industry, this is borne by us, in our taxes," the late Paul Epstein, the study's lead author who died last year, told Reuters at the time. "The public cost is far greater than the cost of the coal itself. The impacts of this industry go way beyond just lighting our lights."
Related articles
Tags: coal greenhouse gas emissions carbon emissions greenhouse gases energy united states climate change jeremy hance green environment economy environmental economics corruption carbon dioxide environmental politics politics pollution climate change politics economics north america Environmental news index | RSS | News Feed | Twitter | Home Advertisements:
|
|
|
DON'T LIKE ADS? Become a mongabay supporter WEEKLY NEWSLETTER RECENT FEATURES
POPULAR PAGES Photos
CALENDARS 
BOOKS BY MONGABAY AUTHORS
FREE WEEKLY NEWSLETTER 
HIGH RESOLUTION PHOTOS / PRINTS 
|
| | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Copyright mongabay 2010 Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions generated from mongabay.com operations (server, data transfer, travel) are mitigated through an association with Anthrotect, an organization working with Afro-indigenous and Embera communities to protect forests in Colombia's Darien region. Anthrotect is protecting the habitat of mongabay's mascot: the scale-crested pygmy tyrant. |
