This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The op-eds by Mark Compton, president, Utah Mining Association, and by Bill Johnson, president, University of Utah Faculty Senate, both argue for "carbon capture and storage" and "abatement" in their response to federal coal leasing and university fossil fuel divestment discussions.
The technologies they desire were "developed" millions of years ago: coal, oil, oil shale. Except for the CO2 in the atmosphere, all the carbon we use is already "sequestered." We insist on unsequestering it by burning it.
We need to focus our technical creativity on smart grids, distributed energy generation, energy storage, more efficient use of energy and energy conservation — and on truly sustainable and renewable sources of energy.
Fossil fuels need to stay right where they are — in the ground. Until then, we need to divest. We need to stop leasing and development. We need to tax carbon to discourage its use, and we need to hold our leaders to much higher standards.
Our Wasatch Front valleys are already highly polluted much of the year. Why does our governor and Legislature — and some university leaders — promote economic "development" plans which will only make the situation even worse?
Joseph Andrade
Salt Lake City