Extended Life of Old King Coal Power Stations.

I can not support any large scale or long term return to coal burning. 

Some short term life extension is acceptable in the present emergency.

What's wrong with burning coal. China and India think its a good idea and are expanding their coal burning facilties. 

I think it's essential to be energy independent now and in the future. 

What's the difference ecologically between burning fossilised wood as compared to burning new wood pellets?

Z.

And don't forget to factor in that the fossilised wood is under our feet and the woodcpellets have to be shipped halfway across the world.

New wood can be replaced.

Burning new wood from a PROPERLY MANAGED  forest is harmless. The growing trees absorb carbon equivalent to that emitted by the wood being burnt.

Burning coal returns to the atmosphere carbon dioxide that has been locked up since ancient times. This is generally accepted to be increasing global temperatures.

Beggars cannot be choosers. We need a cheap source of fuel to stop importing inflation caused by sky high prices for gas and oil to which can now be added shipped in wood pellets.

If no economical way of dealing with the CO2 gases can be found when we burn the imported hydrocarbons or our own coal, then we will just have to live with global warming despite the increased risks of fire and flood. We can all do our part by minimising energy use around the home and by using bikes, public transport or small electric cars

A further factor is to be considered is caused by the ever increasing number of people living on planet earth needing warm homes, meat and vegetables plus transport; resulting in yet more CO2 emissions.

CliveS said:

A further factor is to be considered is caused by the ever increasing number of people living on planet earth needing warm homes, meat and vegetables plus transport; resulting in yet more CO2 emissions.

That's the elephant in the room!

When I was born, there were about 3 billion of us; now there are just about 8 billion.

That said, folk in less developed countries use very little energy.

wait a few more rounds of price rises and some of us in the 'more developed' bits will be using less energy too. in the absence of any other change, ultimately demand destruction will stabilize prices. It may take a generation or two to get used to the rather large lifestyle change that means.

On the other hand we do not really want to be joined on this island by all the folk being displaced by drought and flood, or even a proportional fraction of them as we already cannot feed all our population without importing..

Wood V coal is very different in one key aspect - we are used to a planet with an ecology where the wood that we burn grew a few years ago, and most of the mass of a tree is carbon split from co2 in the air, to release oxygen. So that is a short cycle, most of us have lived through the life time of the sort of tree that makes pellets. However at the time the UK coal was laid down (call it lasting some  10 million years duration and about 300 million years ago, rounding the odd million years between friends -the so called Carboniferous period ) . Now back then the species from which even our oldest forum contributors are descended had not yet evolved. Note that Neandertal man was running about some 300,000 years ago - coal formation is more or less one thousand times further back.

Those who worry about the long term risks of nuclear waste being some centuries duration , need to get a grip of the stupidity of messing with a time line to recover that is a million times longer. Leave the coal where it is or set the planet to the tropical conditions for the return to the age of amphibians, as lizard-like things started to leave the warm seas and develop legs. Over this period as the forests that later became coal formed and died and got  trapped between other rocks, we think that CO2 levels fell from about 8 times what they are now to something just under today's levels with the cooler temps setting the scene for the next phase when the dinosaurs began to evolve from those amphibians.  By all means burn a little coal, but understand why we need to limit it, and how long for. . Be careful what you wish for and learn your history.

Mike.