Environmental groups are not concerned with energy costs to low-, fixed- or middle-income citizens. Their only mission is to ban coal use. They don't care if the new coal steam plants are very clean. They don't care that by capturing half of the carbon dioxide, a coal plant is comparable to a gas plant.

Environmental groups are insisting that electric generating plants be natural gas or a wind/natural gas combination. By the way, wind coupled with natural gas is more expensive than straight natural gas generation and always will be.

What happens when you replace coal with natural gas? Be aware that electric generation uses vast amounts of natural gas. One 250-megawatt gas turbine will use as much natural gas as all the homes in Montana. These gas gobblers will be competing with homes for natural gas. You will probably see 100 to 300 percent increases in your home's gas bill. Your electric bills will skyrocket because the same higher cost gas will generate your electricity.

The U.S. is already importing liquefied natural gas. The U.S. will begin importing large amounts of natural gas from the Middle East. The U.S. will become dependent on imported natural gas as well as imported oil. When will we learn?

Our national security and energy affordability depend on using our coal reserves. If you allow environmentalists to think for you, you are sentencing the U.S. to become a Third World country.

Ted Church
Hysham