The G8 Environmental Report Says Coal Plants are the Worst of All

Dublin and Northern Ireland. The shocking revelation that environmental damages caused by economic activities like coal plant electrical generation and mining is costing the global economy as much as US$4.7 trillion a year. The report released last 15 April was commissioned by the Group of Eight (G8) economic powers and the United Nation's Environmental Programme.

The G8 nation's next meeting is at the Lough Erne Summit, June 17-18, 2013 in Northern Ireland. The grim facts of environmental degradation are causing worldwide economic loss and that means greater poverty and health problems.

The loss to the world economy by environmental destructive economic activity is greater than the wealth generated. The short term benefits are mostly for the rich while the environmental damage hurts the poor. The study calculates the impact of air and water pollution, health costs, the damage caused by climate change due to global warming and the destruction costs of deforestation, the rise in ocean temperature and one hundred other impacts.

Coal fired power plants do the worst damage to the environment and the economy. The negative impact and damage is so grave that it negates any economic benefits that the electricity generated helps create. The damage in East Asia alone, including the Philippines, causes economic losses to the costs of $452.8 billion. The wealth generated is only $443.1 billion causing a net loss - that's bad business for the world economy.

Those who claim that we need to suffer some environmental damage to generate wealth, progress and development are wrong. It is now proven that the losses are greater than the benefits.

It's not often that environmental protectors and campaigners get good news and have victories in protecting the health of citizens and protecting the environment. Recently, a Philippine court ruling set back the construction of a coal fired power plant on Subic Bay after intensive campaigning against it.

In the Philippines as elsewhere, a real democratic political system does not work to protect the greater good. It benefits the few rich. The so-called economic boom in the Philippines is only for those already rich. The value of their holdings and stocks are rising. So it is really an oligarchy, not a democracy. This court ruling has revealed a dent in that armor of invincibility of the ruling elite. Once-in-a while, a judge is independent of their influence.

State employees are usually beholden to their political masters who appoint them and the energy industry and these politicians are frequently in cahoots with each order. Former industry businessmen get elected and invited by the President into the cabinet. They see that the interests of their masters are protected and enlarged. They get political protection and permits to pursue development projects that are detrimental to the environment.

There is nothing new in that arrangement. Keep the poor poor so they will take the money to fill empty stomachs during election time and the rich can elect themselves. The recent election in May has proven the point. Arnold Padilla on www.preda.org made it clear that the business people and the political elite are one and the same. Dozens of rich politicians from ruling families made fake parties, a legal right reserved for the poor and the marginalized. These members of ruling families had their fake party approved by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) and the Supreme Court and bought enough votes to get themselves elected to Congress and there they can work for the benefit of the rich.

The classic place to see this link up in action is the power plant application project at Subic bay. RP energy, a consortium of Philippine and foreign tycoons, some inner sanctum members of the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the government agency (SBMA) in charge of the Subic bay industrial complex had petitioned the court to reverse previous court rulings saying that the Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) permits they issued to RP Energy to allow the coal fired plant to be built were invalid.

Their appeal for a reconsideration of this ruling was recently denied by Associate Justice Celia Librea-Leagogo. She denied the motion for reconsideration filed by the DENR, RP Energy, and the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA). The planned 600 megawatt coal fired power plant due to be set up at the Redondo peninsula on Subic Bay is now back to square one. The people in the Olongapo city and surrounding area are happy with this. But RP Energy will be in cahoots with the government officials to get the permits. But community acceptance is not possible.

In all nations, people of conscience and concerned for the well-being of people and nature are challenged to renew efforts to reduce the environmental destruction going on all around us. Every issue is important. Since my recent column, "The Fishing Wars", the EU has finally made a binding agreement with member nations to abide by the strict quotas and banning of bad practices of throwing millions of tons of non-commercial fish back to the sea dead. Lobbying and speaking out can bring positive change and a healthier world. We are stewards of this beautiful planet; it's the only one we got. There is nothing much on Mars.

Who Coddled the Toxic Terror

The protection, preservation and nurturing of life is more than just an act of survival based on instinct as it is with the animal kingdom. For human persons it is a rational balancing of alternatives as to what action is best to take in any given situation. The fact we have free will to choose a way of life that will save life rather than destroy or damage or endanger it would seem a very rational and morally right thing to do.

But not all humans will agree on what is the right course to take, the best thing to do in various given situations and competing opinions and interests can result in conflict if reason does not prevail. So it is morally reprehensible to spread toxic waste in a neighborhood, cut the trees that will result in landslides that can bury hundreds of people or build a poison factory in a pristine environment. The poison fumes and waste from such a facility will contaminate the air and environment and is very life threatening to those living within its vicinity. Rational moral people would not even think of it.

But there are educated and intelligent humans who are hell bent on willfully ignoring scientific truth about the clear dangers of coal burning power plants, a monster belching mercury, sulfur and heavy metals and deadly chemicals into the air and the environment on the shores of beautiful Subic Bay.

The officials of R.P. Energy, a Philippine conglomerate, composed of eminent intelligent business people are allegedly doing just that. They are pushing for the construction and operation of a coal-fired plant on Subic Bay. If you live near one anywhere in the world you are in a danger zone. A panel of experts has determined that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) required by law was done improperly and was inadequate. It ignored many important factors and impact zones.

Were the former officials of the Subic Bay Metropolitan authority (SBMA) complicit in allowing it to go forward? What consideration persuaded them that it was a rational and good thing to do despite the uproar and strong opposition to it? Their approval of the EIA is rife with serious imperfections experts say. It may be cancelled by the new board of directors and a new proper one be conducted.

The eminent professionals have been consulted and have made research and submitted their results. They say in the newly released report that the conditions are not present to merit the operation of the coal-fired plant or could assure that the natural assets and ecosystems in the adjacent freeport and rain forest: "would not be duly compromised, or irreversible damage would not occur and that the threats to the flora and fauna within the immediate community and its surroundings would be adequately addressed".

They said: "The proposed coal plant would pose a wide range of negative impacts on the environment, the ecosystems and human population within the impact zone". They mentioned the damage caused by acid rain to the rain forest, acidification of the bay, sulfur, nitrous oxide, mercury and lead in the atmosphere that it "would adversely affect the health of the populace in the vicinity".

They stated "that the warming and acidification of the seawater in the bay, resulting in the bio-accumulation of contaminants and toxic materials which would eventually lead to the overall reduction of marine productivity".

With all this accumulated evidence that the coal-fired power station will be a prodigious polluter and a toxic terror still got the go ahead by the previous board is shocking.

The report means that if the plant goes ahead the visionary plan of the new administrator Robert Garcia, to convert the little used sea-side airport area across the bay from the proposed coal-fired plant into a "Family-oriented integrated international destination", will be dead in the water.

Who will bring their children to a toxic dangerous environment to play, or take to the proposed golf-links, or swim in the bay rife with deadly mercury and chemicals? No one!

Subic Coal Plant Getting Permits by Stealth?

Wherever there is a coal-fired power plant, people get sick and die and the environment is damaged beyond repair. Coal is the dirtiest and most toxic form of power generation.


The people of Zambales, Bataan and Olongapo City vehemently oppose the proposed coal plant to be built on scenic Subic Bay and are asking what dirty coal deals have been made between the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) and "The Power Company", made up of Aboitiz Power Corporation, RP Energy, and the Taiwan Cogeneration Corporation (TCC) and the higher Philippine government officials who have allowed this to go forward?

The toxic fumes of the electricity-generating coal plant will cause many diseases especially among the children and the elderly. Despite the campaign of President Aquino for a transparent, clean nation, environment and good government, a dirty deal from the past administration is still going ahead in the SBMA and will bring shame and hurt to the President.

The three main provisions of the original Memorandum of Understanding set up under the corrupt Arroyo Administration have not been honored or implemented by the proponents of the coal plant. The agreement started out as a joint-partnership agreement between the SBMA, the Aboitiz Power Corporation, RP Energy, and the Taiwan Cogeneration Corporation (TCC), call them "The Power Company". The government was to have a role as partner to monitor compliance with safety and health standards, but that has been eliminated.

The government is just a lessor of the public land for a measly give-away pittance, no more than US$3.50 a sq meter to be paid over 50 years. This is grossly detrimental to the public interest, it is worth vastly more than that and it smells of a corrupt sweetheart deal. The present SBMA board must rescind it.

The people will get nothing from the profits or the lease but will, in effect, pay for the plant which will damage them and their environment. The rich families will get richer and the poor will get very sick.

Another provision of the Memorandum of Understanding agreement was that "The Company" would assist local communities off-set any damage to the environment and reduce the health risk with “state of the art” technology. But no written commitment as to what would have been signed. Such health problems has been clearly forecast and acknowledged. A third provision agreed upon was that low-cost electricity would be supplied to the local communities and the SBMA. None of these will happen. The plant will sell all its power to the national grid.

As soon as the "The Company" got the Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) issued by higher authorities under strange and questionable circumstances, "The Company" failed to sign any binding contract with the SBMA. They failed to show any evidence of meeting the strict ECC standards. Inexplicably, they mysteriously got the final permit first. The SBMA officials issued a Permit to Operate (PTO) before the other necessary permits were issued. The requirements for a PTO apparently were waivered. Besides, all safety and design requirements needed to qualify for a Permit to Operate were allegedly not complied with.

Also the original project application stated that it would be a 300 Megawatt coal plant and now they are trying to get an extension of the ECC to double the project to 600 Megawatt plant. The ECC is only good for a 300 MW, it can't cover a 600 MW. "The Company" must start again and follow the requirements to qualify for an ECC for a 600 MW. The ECC for a 300MW plant is null and void since they will build a 600 MW plant, a project with double the hazards to health and the environment.

The proponents of the coal plants are trying to push for "Clean coal", "Green coal, Safe coal", There is no such thing as clean coal and don't believe the profit-hungry companies that tell you there is. All over the world, they are into coal plants for the money, big profits and all to be paid for by the tax payers.

Perhaps the government officials behind this coal plant are the saintly exceptions and will never take a single dollar in exchange for a signature. If they are indeed true and honest people of integrity with the best interests of the Filipino people at heart, they will join the protesting people and oppose the project and allow the alternative renewable energy projects to go ahead instead.

Coal, the Cause of Silent Death

Andrea, a young child is gasping for breath, she has to go to a nearby clinic to get relief from the pain as her lungs seize up and she feels she is suffocating. She cries, begging her mother for medicine to stop the pain in her chest and back but there is no quick or easy cure for this cruel condition of chronic asthma. Thousands of Filipino children and adults near the dirty coal burning power plants are suffering. The plants are supposed to give energy for a better economy and healthier happier and dignified life, but they don't.

Coal plants cause not only health problems but huge losses to the economy in collateral external damage. Now private companies have started to build another coal fired plant on the beautiful scenic Subic Bay, despite widespread protest and the condemnation of provincial and city councils. The people are ignored; the rich control the public agenda it seems.

Meralco, controlled by the Lopez family in partnership with the Aboitiz family with a Taiwanese investor are behind this new coal plant that threatens life and the tourist industry. The government must act to protect the greater good and promote renewable energy.

Yet the nine coal plants around the Philippines, five of them in Central Luzon are belching toxic ash and fumes. The deadly chemicals threaten the health of people and animals. The most dangerous of all is the cancer causing mercury. It is a neurotoxin that can and does cause brain damage when it enters the food chain like fish and damages the people who eat them, especially children, affecting brain development. Yet big business and government continue to build these deadly polluting electricity generating facilities.

Mercury causes: growing fetuses to be malformed, mental disorders, lung problems and damages the nervous and muscular systems. A typical power plant burning coal can produce as much as 25 pounds of mercury a year. Enough to contaminate huge areas causing life long health damage.

There are nine coal fired electric generating power plants in the Philippines. Five in Central Luzon, two on Cebu Island at Toledo, and Naga, one in Misamis Oriental and one in Quezon operated by Meralco all others are operated by the National Power Corporation (NPC) a semi-state body. The industry earns millions in revenue by charging huge cost of electricity, the second most expensive in Asia. Yet the NPC is plagued by allegations of corruption, misapplication of funds waste and abuse, charges they deny.

Advocates of coal plants falsely claim that coal burning power plants are clean and safe. They are not! They are the dirtiest, most polluting and most dangerous form of electricity generation in the world. They are responsible for most of the CO2 in the atmosphere and the catastrophic global warming climatic changes that are causing untold harm and hurt to millions of people and the global ecosystem itself. Estimates for every 1 degree in temperature rise, crop yields will drop 10 percent. Only a Nuclear plant out of control is worse. It's time to bring out the truth.

The external costs or the damage they cause to health, agriculture and the ecosystem is estimated by Greenpeace in 2003 alone the coal plants in the Philippines accounted for 28 percent of power generation and causes external losses to the nation from a staggering 19.3 billion pesos (US $ 459 million) to a whopping high of 67 billion pesos (US$ 1.59 Billion) in external damage.

The coal industry argues that coal is the lowest cost of electricity generation but in fact overall this is not so. Geothermal and natural gas is one of the most safe and natural forms of electricity generation, easily available in the Philippines with its volcanic environment but for some reason is not encouraged by government and hampered by regulations and high taxes. The same goes for natural gas. The new administration of President Aquino is now challenged to right this wrong. There is some corrupt power play going on in the industry.

Allegedly the foreign coal suppliers and local partners are blocking the development of the alternative natural renewable sources of energy like geothermal, small non damaging hydro plants, solar and wind. These are the ideal and best future for the Philippines as they have indigenous renewable resources abundant sunlight, wind and geothermal available.

For the sake of the children, the whole nation, the environment and to reduce global warming we have to stop this madness of coal burning and turn to renewable power generation

Nuclear and Coal Plants are Environmental Disasters

Governments continue to create fear with warnings of possible terrorist attacks by bombs and shootings and the possibility of terrorists using stolen nuclear waste material as a Dirty Bomb.

They have promoted nuclear power plants and have played-down the real menace and threat to our survival poised by melt downs of reactors, nuclear weapons and radioactive waste. The world did not learn much after Chernobyl and the Three Mile Island disasters. This is changing after Japans earthquake and tsunami. The German Government has finally faced the deadly truth and last week made a historical irreversible decision to phase out all nuclear power plants in Germany in the next ten years. Austria made a similar decision a few days ago.

A nuclear blow out like that of Chernobyl has just been averted at the Japanese Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station. Yet grave danger remains. A partial melt down of the nuclear rods in three reactors has occurred but the reactor did not explode.

The Philippines is 3,300 kilometers away and the prevailing winds do not blow directly from Japan to the Philippines. Nuclear power generation is cheap electricity but accidents are common we just don't know about them. The safe permanent storage of deadly radioactive waste still eludes the scientists. There is just no way to make it safe. The waste from spent fuel rods and reprocessed military wastes will last for hundreds of thousands of years and every generation will have to guard the radioactive waste from being stolen by terrorists or released into the atmosphere by natural disasters, human error or faulty safety systems.

There are dozens of nuclear accidents at nuclear power plants and military nuclear installations around the world that are never reported. In the UK the Guardian newspaper tells of three accidents last February alone. Two consist of nuclear radioactive waste spillage, one at Sellafield in Cumbria, and another near Edinburgh and a scary breakdown of the emergency cooling system at Hartlepool, North-East England nuclear power plant. The report says these incidents indicate a design fault at the plant system. This is the greatest fear of all and an additional spillage at Sellafield is under investigation. New nuclear plant construction in the UK is on hold since the disaster in Japan. Yet the power and influence of the business tycoons in global nuclear power industry in government is massive. The dangers are so real that a few weeks ago Switzerland decided to phase outs its five aging nuclear power plants in favor of renewable energy such as solar and wind.

Meanwhile in the Philippines a bill in congress seeks to ban nuclear power generation forever. But the present danger to Filipinos and the environment is cheap dirty polluting asthma causing coal fired power plants. Instead we need clean renewable energy from solar and wind power. However more coal plants are to be built.

The new construction of a coal fired plant has started (illegally some say) on the Redondo Peninsula, Subic Bay under the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA). It is to be built and operated by RP Energy Inc. an Aboitiz company in partnership with Taiwan Cogeneration Corporation (TCC). The SBMA has not developed the Environmental Regulations and Emission Standards needed to give a permit. But anyway a Permit to Operate has been given, despite the absence of the essential preliminary requirements such as Permit to Site Develop, Permit to Build, Permit to Occupy. These have been ignored so far.

The original agreement with the SBMA was for a joint venture and set special electric rates for the SBMA and Olongapo City and Subic municipality. These have been tossed out it seems and instead the power plant will just pay a measly miniscule Php 0.17 centavos a square meter a month for the huge site under existing land values it should be Php 0.25 per square meter at least per month. The value of the land is actually Php 500.00 a square meter.

The project has no social acceptance and has been rejected outright by the counsel resolutions of Olongapo City and Subic municipality. The resort operators around Subic Bay oppose it fearing destruction of the rain forest, the waters of the bay and the atmosphere. It will kill family tourism. The residents will be subjected to the dangerous particles and smoke belching 24/7 from the stacks. We have to stop this madness and go for renewal solar and wind power.