Over the next five years, Italy will increase its reliance on coal to 33 percent from 14 percent. Power generated by Enel from coal will rise to 50 percent.That's Europe, the bastion of environmentalism. I'm afraid that climate change is an issue over which working classes, especially those in the South, have already lost even before getting involved in the fight.
And Italy is not alone in its return to coal. Driven by rising demand, record high oil and natural gas prices, concerns over energy security and an aversion to nuclear energy, European countries are expected to put into operation about 50 coal-fired plants over the next five years, plants that will be in use for the next five decades. (Elizabeth Rosenthal, "Europe Turns Back to Coal, Raising Climate Fears," New York Times, 23 April 2008)
Friday, April 25, 2008
Back to Coal
Has the oil supply crunch motivated the ruling classes to undertake major efforts at conservation? Far from it:
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Of course there is always the UK which will not return to its own coal reserves for political reasons though it continues to import it. Preferring rather to increase reliance on nuclear power citing questionable statistics and ignoring the fact that a change from a fossil fuel to another fuel of finite resource and even more potentially catastrophic environmental impact would not be seen by most as evidence of progress.
Red Baron
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