If you want a good starting point for learning the facts about clean energy, The Union of Concerned Scientists is offering an excellent resource, “Clean Energy 101.” If you’d like to learn about the pollution caused by coal plants, and how sustainable energy would cut this pollution, check the article called “Benefits of Renewable Energy.”

A Typical Coal PlantA typical 500-megawatt coal plant produces 3.5 billion kilowatt-hours per year — enough to power a city of about 140,000 people.
It burns 1.4 million tons of coal (the equivalent of 40 train cars of coal each day) and uses 2.2 billion gallons of water each year. In an average year, this one plant also generates the following:

10,000 tons of sulfur dioxide
10,200 tons of nitrogen oxide, equivalent to half a million late-model cars
3.7 million tons of carbon dioxide, equivalent to cutting down 100 million trees
500 tons of small particles
220 tons of hydrocarbons
720 tons of carbon monoxide
125,000 tons of ash and 193,000 tons of sludge from the smokestack scrubber
170 pounds of mercury, 225 pounds of arsenic, 114 pounds of lead, 4 pounds of cadmium, and other toxic heavy metals
Trace amounts of uranium

Here are each of the main topics covered:

• How Biomass Energy Works
• How Natural Gas Works
• How Solar Energy Works
• How Geothermal Energy Works
• How Wind Energy Works
• How Coal Works
• How Hydrokinetic Energy Works
• The Costs of Coal
• Buy Green Power
• A Short History of Energy
• Benefits of Renewable Energy Use
• Real Energy Solutions: The Renewable Electricity Standard
• Renewable Energy and Agriculture: A Natural Fit
• Measuring Energy
• How Oil Works
• The Sources of Energy
• 7 Ways to Switch America to Renewable Energy
• The Hidden Cost of Fossil Fuels
• Renewable Energy Checklist for Homebuilders
• Environmental Benefits of Renewable Energy
• Putting Green Customer Demand to Work
• Energy 101: Take a tour
• Environmental Impacts of Renewable Energy Technologies
• Energy Star Label Saves Energy and Money