Why coal? Questions of a powerful nature

[Michael Higdon]

After talking to John Sagebiel about the new coal power plant issue, we came up with some questions that must be answered in order to really validate the whole destructive, polluting, inefficient plants.

If it takes 108 million gallons of water a month (1.3 billion a year) for one power plant and there are two, where does all the water come from in a drought state?

If one power plant will produce 10.4 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, 3,044 tons of nitrogen oxides, 3,044 tons of sulfuric oxides, particulates and other dangerous pollutants, such as mercury, why is it okay to let that blow into Utah, who just passed a cleaner air act?

And more over, why is it okay to build one power plant - let alone two - that will produce that much pollution?

Why is the state willing to spend millions on the power plants and the high-powered transmission lines to ship power almost 300 miles to Las Vegas when education is suffering?

Why not spend that money on more sustainable geothermal energy that bleeds from the state and provide more jobs for residents instead of "exporting $6 to $8 billion on fuels" for these power plants?

If Harry Reid is against it and it's clearly one of the worst ideas this state ever came up with, why hasn't it been stopped already?

What's the deal?

Can anyone tell me?