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It is not realistic to quit coal entirely. Environmental aspects alone can’t dictate the way countries set their energy policies.

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Takafumi Kakudo, director of the clean coal division at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. Japan, faced with increasing calls from environmentalists to phase out coal, is standing by its support of the fossil fuel, saying it will help developing countries adopt the best available technologies for coal-fired power plants. (Bloomberg)

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Well, if environmental aspects alone can't dictate energy policies now they will in future so get with it now and you won't have the costs later. Though in a country where short terms benefits to bureaucrats and their corporate rewarders take precedence over almost everything else this will need a major social change to effect.

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Here is the realty. Coal is a dead industry in Japan and has been so door decades. There is no such thing as clean coal energy as there is no such thing as clean tobacco smoking. Coal, like nuclear power generation, belong to the past. Solar energy is fast coming into its own and it belongs to the future we need.

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What he said:

Takafumi Kakudo, director of the clean coal division at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. Japan, faced with increasing calls from environmentalists to phase out coal, is standing by its support of the fossil fuel, saying it will help developing countries adopt the best available technologies for coal-fired power plants.

What he meant:

Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. Japan, is standing by its support for sales to developing countries of coal-fired power plants (by offering strings-attached overseas development aid?), thus availing to Japan Inc. the directorships of über-connected ex-METI executives.

Ginza again tonight, boys!

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Guess what? It IS realistic to quit coal entirely!

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Between profiteers, climate change denial, inability to see alternatives, just plain intransigence and lack of creative thinking.... humanity is screwed.

I mean we cannot even convince a lot of critical leaders that it is a real issue. When money is added to the mix, not enough will happen to change how we do things. And this is talk about the tier 1 nations. Forget progress with developing nations.

We are doing ourselves in for money and taking the entirety of the world with us. (Frog in a boiling pot folks.)

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First, install solar panels on EVERY SINGLE house, building and factory in Japan. THEN come and tell me we need coal. California is going to be 50% solar energy by 2030. Half of its energy will be from solar. We can do that here.

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