This spill of coal ash sludge in Tennessee is a tragedy. What is not really highlighted in the article(not surprisingly) is that this sludge is contaminated with arsenic, lead, and other poisonous compounds and that it will affect the Tennessee River watershed for hundreds of miles including the water supply for Greater Chattanooga. This coal ash sludge is a witches' brew of bad things and it will take forever for its effects to diminish. A real tragedy.
This is a lesson to remember every time some idiot talks about 'clean coal'. It's a myth and the sooner we divorce ourselves from coal the better off we will be. Mining and burning coal are an act of rape against the planet and while it is 'cheap' and readily available energy it comes with a huge cost with respect to the environment. The CO2 issue is only a part of the problem and I am not so sure it is the biggest or worst part.
The second paragraph was added after the initial paragraph was posted.
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