of the Department of Energy started back in 1985, so in a way clean coal refers to any of the cleaning techniques (scrubbers, washing) that can make coal more palatable and less deadly to our health and planet. Coal plants have, in fact, made improvements over the past few decades in response to acid rain-related governmental regulations regarding sulfur, particulates, and nitrogen oxides. These days, clean coal mostly seems to refer to reducing CO2 emissions. The issue of coal and global warming is simple: Coal is a horridly dirty fuel that contributes frightening amounts of CO2 to the atmosphere, and we can't afford to increase the amounts of CO2 we add to the atmosphere. Newer ideas behind the "clean coal" phrase are gasification -- a thermo-chemical, non-burning way to get energy from coal -- and carbon capture and...
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