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from the what-do-I-do-with-all-these-burner-inserters? dept.
Submitted via IRC for Bytram
U.S. greenhouse emissions fell in 2017 as coal plants shut
Greenhouse gases emissions from the largest U.S. industrial plants fell 2.7 percent in 2017, the Trump administration said, as coal plants shut and as that industry competes with cheap natural gas and solar and wind power that emit less pollution.
The drop was steeper than in 2016 when emissions fell 2 percent, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said.
EPA acting administrator Andrew Wheeler said the data proves that federal regulations are not necessary to drive carbon dioxide reductions.
[...] While Wheeler gave the administration credit for the reductions, which mainly came from the power sector, the numbers also underscore that the administration has not been able to stop the rapid pace of coal plant shutdowns.
[...] Natural gas releases far less carbon dioxide when burned than coal and a domestic abundance of gas has driven a wave of closures of coal plants. In 2017 utilities shut or converted from coal-to-gas nearly 9,000 megawatts (MW) of coal plants.
[...] The trend of U.S. coal plant shutdowns is expected to pick up this year, with power companies expecting to shut 14,000 MW of coal plants in calendar year 2018.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 19 2018, @03:25AM
A side note to consider, hydrogen can squeeze through other molecular structures and also won't always be 100% combusted. This means some hydrogen molecules will escape and I see no reason why they would guaranteed combine with something in the atmosphere. Long story short, we may end up with a slow loss of hydrogen on the planet. Pretty minor I imagine, but then again maybe not if it becomes a massive aspect of our infrastructure for hundreds of years.