Union of Concerned Scientists
{{#badges:CoalSwarm}} The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) "is the leading science-based nonprofit working for a healthy environment and a safer world. UCS combines independent scientific research and citizen action to develop innovative, practical solutions and to secure responsible changes in government policy, corporate practices, and consumer choices." [1]
Contents
Support for a Moratorium on New Coal Plants
In a study released in October, 2008, the Union of Concerned Scientists called for a moratorium on new coal-fired power plants that do not capture their carbon dioxide emissions. The authors of the study wrote that the United States should:
- Stop building new coal-fired power plants without CCS. Each new coal plant built without CCS represents a major long-term source of CO2. It is not safe to assume that new coal plants built today without CCS could cost-effectively add it later, because the cost of CCS (considerable even when included in the plant’s original design) would be much higher if added as a retrofit. The federal government should therefore adopt a strong performance standard limiting CO2 emissions from new coal plants, which will prevent the construction of any plant not employing CCS from the outset. Until such a policy is put in place, state regulators should evaluate proposed plants using a projected range of prices those plants would likely have to pay for their CO2 emissions under a capand-trade program.[2]
Directors
Accessed August 2007: [3]
UCS Board Members
- Kurt Gottfried (Chair)
- Peter A. Bradford (Vice-Chair)
- Thomas Eisner
- James A. Fay (board member emeritus)
- Richard L. Garwin
- Andrew Gunther (representative of the National Advisory Board)
- Geoffrey M. Heal
- James S. Hoyte (Treasurer)
- Anne R. Kapuscinski
- James J. McCarthy
- Mario J. Molina
- Stuart L. Pimm
- Adele Simmons
- Nancy Stephens
- Thomas H. Stone
- Ellyn R. Weiss
Contact
2 Brattle Square
Cambridge, MA 02238
Phone: 617-547-5552
Fax: 617-864-9405
Web: http://www.ucsusa.org
Resources
Related SourceWatch articles
- Citizen groups working on coal issues
- Coal moratorium
- Exxon Mobil
- Francesca Grifo
- Political interference in scientific research (U.S.)
References
- ↑ What We Do, UCS, accessed August 3, 2007.
- ↑ "Coal Power in A Warming World," (Executive Summary) Union of Concerned Scientists, October 2008
- ↑ About UCS, UCS, accessed August 3, 2007.
UCS Reports
- "Smoke, Mirrors, and Hot Air: How ExxonMobil Uses Big Tobacco's Tactics to Manufacture Uncertainty on Climate Science," January 2007.
- "Federal Science and the Public Good", February 2008. (This is the portal page to the report).
- "A to Z Guide to Political Interference in Science"
External Links
Coal vs. wind comparison, Union of Concerned Scientists website, accessed February 2008.
