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Copyright © 2007 G. Donald Bain, All Rights Reserved
| Bain Digital Graphics
Four million metric tons - that is how much carbon dioxide a power plant like this will emit in one year. When it was built fifty years ago this was considered the ideal way to generate electricity. It is fueled by natural gas, which burns clean with far fewer emissions than coal or oil, and without the risks of nuclear power. The 140 meter stacks disperse the small amount of particulate matter over a wide area. There is no need to store fuel on the property. But times have changed. The first objections to the plant concerned its effects on the rich marine ecology of the area. To cool the plant salt water is drawn in from Morro Bay, along with huge amounts of marine life. Next came concern over the very fine particulate matter vented from the stacks, increasingly recognized as a health risk. Now the simple production of carbon dioxide is seen to be a critical factor in global climatic change. Ironically, the plant's operator, Duke Energy, has been running it at less than full capacity for several years, claiming that they cannot make money from it. They have applied for permission to rebuild the plant with more modern technology, but with shorter stacks and greater pollution, and no effort to protect marine life. This panorama was taken on the T-Pier, home to both fishing boats and a Coast Guard rescue station. Morro Rock, 175 meters high, rises through the fog at the mouth of the harbor. Behind the scene : how this panorama was made
See more panoramas of Big Sur and the Central California Coast (fullscreen versions) on my website: Don Bain's Virtual Guidebooks. 
Shortcut to this page: http://geoimages.berkeley.edu/wwp_rss/go/n3237
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