Clean Coal

Clean Coal sounds wonderful. The name makes you think that somehow scientists have figured out how to make coal burn clean. You get a mental image of a power plant next to a field of grass on a sunny day, with a little girl playing in the flowers, and not a cloud in the sky.

Except it's not like that. What clean coal actually means is that the crap that would normally end up in the air is captured and stored where it won't cause any harm.

This has 2 big flaws.

1. Not everything is captured, so really it's not "clean" coal. It's "slightly cleanish" coal at best.
   
2. Clean Coal is a stupid plan. Eventually the storage will fail.  Look how well that plan worked out for Fukushima.

What can you do?

If you live in a state that has a coal mine or a coal fired power plant
Write a letter to your Senator and/or Congressman telling them why coal is terrible and that the mine or power plant should be shut down. Example:

Dear Senator ________
Coal is bad. Stop and think about it. We dig up crap from the ground and burn it. And along with the energy we need to heat our homes and run our factories, crap is released into the environment, poisoning our air and water. In the long term it will change our weather. This will kill our crops, and then we will all starve to death.

 I know you need money to win elections, but please consider doing what you can to shut down the coal _________.
Your Name
Your Address.

If you work in a coal mine or a coal fired power plant (or similar) 
We are using coal instead of solar power because it is cheap. Coal is cheap because of you, but you can do something about it. Be bad at your job. Work slowly. Accidentally delete files. Call in sick. Get a flat tire. The sooner we can get coal to cost more than solar, the sooner we will switch to solar.

If you work in a solar power plant (or solar panel factory, etc.)
Be really good at your job. If you're unwilling or unable to be good at your job, quit so that someone else can get in there. Maybe apply to the coal plant.

Everybody
Turn off some lights. Put a switch on your water heater so it's only on 30 mins before you take your shower in the morning. Don't turn on your TV as "background noise". Set your AC/Heat one degree less comfortable.

Not every revolution needs to be in the street.