
Coal Power Plants Are Killing Thousands in Europe: Report - jseliger
http://www.theatlanticcities.com/neighborhoods/2013/03/coal-power-plants-are-killing-thousands-europe-report/4924/
======
maxharris
A truly massive amount of electrical power is essential to maintain a human
environment. For example, try drinking water from an unfiltered stream. You
run the risk of getting giardiasis, which is a terrible way to spend a couple
of weeks writhing in pain. Cooking food on an electric stove is way, way
healthier than cooking it in your fireplace. And what about hospitals? They
require a huge amount of electrical energy. If you force them onto a power
source that isn't available 24/7, all year round, no matter the weather, lots
more people will die.

 _Coal brings light and life to billions of people._ It literally _cleans_
their environment: coal power purifies drinking water, washes their clothes,
keeps their homes from getting too cold/hot/damp/dry, pumps the water they
take showers with, fuels the industrial processes that produce the antibiotics
and other pharmaceuticals that keep them healthy, and so on.

Take away those coal power plants, and millions will die. Likewise, anything
you do to make energy more expensive will cause people to suffer. Energy bills
that leave me poorer do not help me out.

Whenever you see someone talking exclusively about the negative aspects of a
technology, step back and consider the entire context, including the
alternative that people face. And remember that the people you're considering
have the same right to exist that you do.

