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Community Corner

Wasting Energy on 'Waste-to-Energy' Fight

Had the green lobby prevailed in Annapolis, we all would have paid more for our electricity for no environmental benefit.

The environmental lobby in Maryland frequently does things that induce head-scratching from even the most ardent conservationists.  Often it seems, their well-intentioned stances have no logical connection to actually improving the environment.  This tendency was again on display in Annapolis when environmentalists nearly blocked efforts to count power generated through waste-to-energy plants as a "renewable" source for Maryland electric utilities.  Had the environmental lobby prevailed, we all would have paid more for our electricity, but for what environmental benefit?

Every form of energy production has its downside, but the Maryland environmental lobby loves to have it all ways, or none, by taking a position against "all of the above."  They take the easy way out.  To be sure, being green and "saving the Bay" are important social goals that should be advanced in Annapolis.  But so is "being real" and operating in an environment where genuine trade-offs must be made.  Yet environmentalists take positions against building new power plants in our region, because of their environmental impacts, but also against avoiding those impacts by adding higher-capacity power lines so we can bring in more power from elsewhere to meet demand.  Conservation alone is not going to solve this.

So how should we generate electric power?  Clearly, they say, the answer is not nuclear, oil, natural gas, or coal (for obvious reasons).  Wind turbines pose a threat to endangered bats and birds, and can mar sensitive viewscapes, so their locations should be limited, and waste-to-energy plants produce some carbon dioxide too, so they're out.  What's left?

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To them, the litmus test of being adequately "green" in Maryland means we should only use wind, solar or geothermal power.  Never mind that any expert (or any eighth-grade science student) can tell you these sources do not even come close to providing enough output to meet our needs, now or in the future.

In this context, why is waste-to-energy not considered to be an equally environmentally responsible and renewable option?  Is it not "green" to reduce the amount of solid waste that ends up in our landfills?  Surely, the supply of solid waste is just as renewable as any other power source, as long as humans exist anyway (after which it really doesn't matter).  Modern waste-to-energy plants burn at such high temperatures, the emissions are miniscule when compared to fossil fuels.  So in the grand scheme of things, why all this fuss from the environmental lobby?

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It seems like a pure waste of energy to me.  We have to get our power from somewhere and recycling waste seems pretty "green" to me.

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