Aguilar: Absolutely no to coal

Aguilar: Absolutely no to coal

COAL-FIRED power plants can cause enormous damage to our communities.

A typical coal plant withdraws between 70 to 180 billion gallons of water per year from a water source where millions of fish eggs and fish larvae may also come along with it not to mention that it may deprive our agricultural sector as well as our households with the water supply that we badly need. And as these waters wash through mines, they come out acidic.

There is also air pollution that comes out from such plant which includes sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and heavy metals that can lead to acid rain and smog as well as cause a lot of respiratory, cardiovascular, and cerebrovascular effects to our body.

I bet this whole page would not be enough if I were to enumerate all possible effects of coal-fired power plants, none of which is good.

And yet I was told that the entry of coal plant in San Carlos City is almost a done deal. It’s only a matter of time. While local leaders are silent about the issue to avoid controversies, silence can be perceived as support for its entry otherwise they would have been bolder enough to say no.

I am therefore hoping that our newly elected officials in the province would reconsider their stand on the plan to build a coal-fired power plant in our jurisdiction and outright block its entry.

We voted for each of them to be our champions, and by that we mean that they should put the interest of the greater majority who would not have the resources to protect themselves from the adverse effects of coal-fired plant once it becomes real.

You see, this issue magnifies the business interests of those who are supporting this move more than their desire to promote the welfare of the majority. I mean if we talk money, such plant if materialized will really bring in resources to the province because energy is a very lucrative business. And of course there will surely be people who will profit from it, to an extent the local government would as well. But apparently those who are supporting did not do risk assessment and failed to factor in sustainable development.

There are many ways to bring in development in this part of the region. Probably not as fast as putting a coal plant in, but surely not as expensive as the price that coal plant brings.

Let us not destroy this beautiful paradise, we owe that to our future generations.

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