Environmental impact can be measured with the folllowing formula:
I=PAT.
I = environmental impact
P = the size of the population
A= the affluence of the population
T= technology used
(Daily and Ehrlich 1992).
Although I will not attempt to measure the impact of the "filthy
14" on the environment, I will consider the relationship
of population, affluence, economics, and technology to the issue
of these power plants.
Power plants supply people with electricity. As the population
increases, so will the use of these power plants, as will air
pollution. The use of the "filthy 14" has increased
already because these plants have a cost advantage, which allows
then to produce a cheaper product. Again this leads to increased
pollution due to these plants.
The whole issue of power plants and electric companies is loaded
with economic questions and ramifications. First of all, the goal
of power plants and electric companies is to maximize their profits
and be competitive in the market. For these reasons, they would
like to produce power at the least possible expense to the company,
regardless of costs borne by others. This is what led to the "loophole"
to start with: Electric companies, not wanting to spend the money
to clean up their plants, lobbied to exempt older plants from
the 1970 and 1977 air emission standards. Their success guaranteed
older power plants a cost advantage over the more efficient ones,
enabling them to offer electric companies their power at a cheaper
rate. For obvious reasons then, electric companies would come
to depend more on these polluting suppliers.
On a larger scale, one must consider the affluence of the United
States as a whole and how it impacts this problem. Because the
U.S. consumes such a disproportionate amount of coal and oil compared
to the rest of the world, it contributes an equally disproportionate
amount of air pollution to the world, which has major environmental
and health implication for countries outside of the United States.
When dealing with this issue, we must remember how we damage the
lives of those outside of our borders. Also, we must consider
that we get this coal and oil from other countries whose environments
and health are also harmed by obtaining these resources.
Technology is important for the cleaning up of these plant. Retrofit methods can be used. For sulfur dioxide, scrubbers perform a retrofit method called flue gas desulfurization. For nitrogen oxides, selective catalytic and non-catalytic reduction methods are used. However, for some old power plants, repowering them with natural gas is a better option, because of the significant increases in fuel efficiency. Both these methods of cleanup have been successfully employed in many power plants.
Technology is also important when considering the policy that
should be employed in the future regarding energy sources. Renewable
sources of energy are an alternative to coal, oil, and gas power
plants. Solar and wind power industries could be further developed
to create reasonable alternatives. These alternatives are both
a cost efficient way to reduce pollution because they create littleor
no pollution, and environmentally sustainable. Of course, alternative
energy sources would have to be furthur devloped; however, some
forms are already effectively employed in many places.