Re: “Fight over Centralia coal plant heats up as WA challenges feds” (Jan. 15, Climate Lab):
Amanda Zhou’s article about the U.S. Department of Energy’s emergency order to stop the scheduled closure of the Centralia coal plant was frustrating, but not surprising. It seems in today’s news, no news is good news for a climate reporter.
Unfortunately, the bad news is our country does have an electrification problem due to the exploding demands for more energy sources going forward. If our government really wants to increase energy sources, how about streamlining clean energy over fossil fuel permitting? Or how about investing in new and current clean energy sources, storage and delivery systems across state lines?
However, the Department of Energy’s decision to retain a coal plant to counter the increasing electrical demand is like choosing to reinstall a fluorescent bulb instead of an LED. To further drive home the absurdity of our times, I will close with these words by Ronald Reagan, “Preservation of our environment is not a liberal or conservative challenge, it’s common sense.” Of which, we sadly don’t have enough these days.
Susan Schremser, Bainbridge Island
