Sometimes, all I need is the air that I breathe
And to love you
The Air That I Breathe - Hollies
I always figured Florida as being a relatively safe state to live in when considering environmental hazards. And when comparing it to places like Ohio or Western Pennsylvania, I guess it is.
But alarmingly, my Floridian sunshine-filled skies may not be as squeaky-clean as they seem.
My home, here in Orlando, apparently is under a constant cloud of nearly imperceptible fine particulate caused by area coal-fired power plants. Some of the biggest in the country.
I did a bit of research this morning after I got curious about one power station very close to my home in the southeastern section of town. Situated no more than a couple of miles from me, as the crow flies, is this facility, Stanton Energy Center with its two ominous-looking cooling towers.
It's kinda out in the midst of, well, nothing, since the area is pretty much just undeveloped scrub brush and swamps so one wouldn't have the frequent occasion to drive past it...unless you travel the Beachline toll highway heading towards Port Canaveral and Cocoa Beach. I noticed it looming there as I drove towards my cruise departure port last week. Of course I recognized that I'd seen it several times before when flying in or out of nearby Orlando International Airport. To me it always looked like images of Three Mile Island so I assumed it might be a nuclear power plant.
It's arguably much worse. The two main reactors are coal fueled with an additional natural gas plant and a recent token puny 6MW solar farm.
So after a little research, which was a bit difficult because it seems the local newspaper, The Orlando Sentinel, had little to say about this plant other than this article in July. It sounds to me like they're saying "Well gosh folks, at least they're trying to make things better!" Maybe because this wasn't a public service news piece, it was in the business section which is simply a primer to help rich people figure out how to become richer.
According to leading environmental watch group sites though, they have quite a ways to go in actual improvements. This plant was recently named NUMBER 1 in the nation in coal waste pollution.
And if that wasn't bad enough, the following facilities, all within a 60 mile radius of me, and, mainly to the west - the direction from which prevailing winds come - are cumulatively even worse. I've included the number of anticipated annual deaths attributable to the toxic emissions put out by these guys:
Remember these are just the closest facilities to me. There are 8 other coal plants in Florida alone. And the air quality is affected in a radius of much more than just 60 miles...try hundreds of miles.
Here's some more fun facts I found:
Just two of the coal-fired units at the massive Crystal River Complex near Tampa puts out the equivalent of 830,000 automobile emissions per year!
And just down the road, Stanton Energy Center, all by itself, can burn up to 21 trainloads of coal, yup - TRAINLOADS - each at least a mile long carrying about 10,000 tons. How frequently? Drum roll please...EACH MONTH!!!
I'd gasp, but I really don't want to inhale any more than I absolutely need to.
And to love you
The Air That I Breathe - Hollies
But alarmingly, my Floridian sunshine-filled skies may not be as squeaky-clean as they seem.
My home, here in Orlando, apparently is under a constant cloud of nearly imperceptible fine particulate caused by area coal-fired power plants. Some of the biggest in the country.
I did a bit of research this morning after I got curious about one power station very close to my home in the southeastern section of town. Situated no more than a couple of miles from me, as the crow flies, is this facility, Stanton Energy Center with its two ominous-looking cooling towers.
It's kinda out in the midst of, well, nothing, since the area is pretty much just undeveloped scrub brush and swamps so one wouldn't have the frequent occasion to drive past it...unless you travel the Beachline toll highway heading towards Port Canaveral and Cocoa Beach. I noticed it looming there as I drove towards my cruise departure port last week. Of course I recognized that I'd seen it several times before when flying in or out of nearby Orlando International Airport. To me it always looked like images of Three Mile Island so I assumed it might be a nuclear power plant.
It's arguably much worse. The two main reactors are coal fueled with an additional natural gas plant and a recent token puny 6MW solar farm.
So after a little research, which was a bit difficult because it seems the local newspaper, The Orlando Sentinel, had little to say about this plant other than this article in July. It sounds to me like they're saying "Well gosh folks, at least they're trying to make things better!" Maybe because this wasn't a public service news piece, it was in the business section which is simply a primer to help rich people figure out how to become richer.
According to leading environmental watch group sites though, they have quite a ways to go in actual improvements. This plant was recently named NUMBER 1 in the nation in coal waste pollution.
And if that wasn't bad enough, the following facilities, all within a 60 mile radius of me, and, mainly to the west - the direction from which prevailing winds come - are cumulatively even worse. I've included the number of anticipated annual deaths attributable to the toxic emissions put out by these guys:
- McIntosh Power Plant, 5 deaths per year
- Polk Power Plant, 1 death per year
- Central Power & Lime Power Plant, 3 deaths per year
- Crystal River Energy Complex, 76 deaths per year
Remember these are just the closest facilities to me. There are 8 other coal plants in Florida alone. And the air quality is affected in a radius of much more than just 60 miles...try hundreds of miles.
Here's some more fun facts I found:
Just two of the coal-fired units at the massive Crystal River Complex near Tampa puts out the equivalent of 830,000 automobile emissions per year!
And just down the road, Stanton Energy Center, all by itself, can burn up to 21 trainloads of coal, yup - TRAINLOADS - each at least a mile long carrying about 10,000 tons. How frequently? Drum roll please...EACH MONTH!!!
I'd gasp, but I really don't want to inhale any more than I absolutely need to.