A July 6 letter missed the mark on the importance of coal-fueled electricity
for America. Coal fuels more than 50 percent of U.S. electricity, driving down
energy costs and helping Americans live longer and better. Even as coal used for
electricity generation has tripled over the past three decades, emissions from
coal-fueled plants have been reduced dramatically thanks to investments in new
technologies. Peabody's planned $2 billion-plus Prairie State Energy Campus in
Southern Illinois will contribute to continued environmental improvement and
represent a new generation of coal- fueled plants. It will be among the cleanest major coal plants in the nation and will
include more than $500 million in state-of-the- art control technologies to
protect the environment. Prairie State also will create 450 permanent jobs and
generate nearly $100 million in annual economic benefits. A recent poll shows
that the project enjoys overwhelming local support from all demographic groups,
including 87 percent support from those who consider themselves
environmentalists. Multiple studies demonstrate that clean electricity from coal
increases quality of life and longevity. The alternative is troubling. Consider a recent survey of more than 700 low-income Missouri households that
showed 45 percent of respondents are forced to go without food to pay for energy
bills. The need for clean, low-cost electricity is real, and using technology
that enables use of our domestic energy resources is a winning solution. We are
proud to advance a project that represents clean, low-cost electricity, an
improved environment and a healthy economy. Vic Svec Vice President of Public
and Investor Relations, Peabody Energy St. Louis Polluting the air Proponents of
a coal-burning power plant for Marissa, Ill., are sugar-coating the proposal as
being environmentally friendly, with promises of lower cost electricity and jobs
for the community. The truth is the plant will be using outdated technology that will add 25,000
tons of pollution to our air every year and remove 18 million gallons of water
from the Kaskaskia River every day. This means more cases of asthma and other
respiratory diseases, as well as additional mercury pollution in our lakes and
rivers that already have fish advisories for women and children. The proponents
tell us that they can't use a significantly safer technology called coal
gasification because it's not "proven." Yet a proposed plant for
Taylorville, Ill., is planning to use this very technology. How can the Illinois
Environmental Protection Agency claim the technology is adequate for Taylorville
but deficient for Marissa? We need to demand that this plant be denied a permit
for building a facility that uses out-of- date, dirty technology. Marissa and the region deserve better. We should not put the health of the
children in our region at risk in order to benefit Peabody Coal Co. Shelby
Seegers-Schafer, Carbondale, Ill.
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