Politics taint report by Environment Iowa

The Nov. 25 Gazette Money page article, “Report: Most power from coal,” relates claims made in a just-released report by an environmental advocacy group, Environment Iowa. That report accuses Iowa's coal-fired power plants of being antiquated and dirty, releasing millions of tons of carbon dioxide per year.

The language suffers from a confusion of terminology, possibly designed to mislead the reader.

Flue gas emissions from fossil fuel power plants have been problematical going back decades to the legitimate health concerns raised by such contaminants as oxides of sulfur and nitrogen (the chemical precursors of acid rain), fly ash (incombustible components of fuel), and soot and carbon monoxide (the products of incomplete combustion). Over the years, utilities have invested in scrubbers and other containment technologies and in innovations to boost efficiency.

Pure carbon dioxide and pure water vapor are the inescapable end products - the theoretical ideal - of complete combustion of pure hydrocarbon fuel. Neither product is “dirty.” While it is true that the EPA has proposed rules classifying carbon dioxide as a “pollutant” conjecturally blamed for anthropogenic (caused by humans) global warming, it distinguishes it from identified pollutants genuinely detrimental to health.

It is apparent that Environment Iowa's report is motivated more by a political agenda than genuine concern for Iowa's fossil fuel power industry.

Dale Fitzgibbons

Chemical engineer

Cedar Rapids