Clean coal important, energy expert says

The Charleston Gazette, W.Va. --Oct. 8

Oct. 8--Clean coal is an energy source the United States and the world need to rely on more in the future, according to a nationally renowned energy expert and West Virginia Tech graduate.

"With our reserves, we really have something in coal," said Charles Bayless. "The United States has one-quarter of the world's supply. It's something that can sustain us in the future."

This means a lot when considering that the United States only has 2 percent of the world's oil, and 3 percent of natural gas reserves, he said.

Bayless spoke to a crowd at the Charleston Marriott Thursday night as part of his alma mater's Distinguished Lecture series. He said that the time has come to think about "Energy, the Economy and the Environment," the title of his lecture.

"Every West Virginia citizen, every state leader, every one has got to push for clean-coal technology," Bayless said. "Coal is our road into the future."

Though nuclear energy is another source that the world should look into expanding, he said, uranium and other sources needed to produce it aren't so easy to come by.

Considering trends that show U.S. dependence on resources like gas and oil is rising, which isn't a good thing, the state will be an important part of the energy equation in the future, he said. West Virginia is a prime example of low energy costs because of coal plants, he said.

"We have nine years of gas left, and if our reliance increases, we'll be importing massive amounts," he said. "And what if they cut us off?"

Because oil-producing nations are at their production capacities, it is even more important for the world to look toward alternative energy resources, Bayless said. Countries like China and India are making the change from labor to energy economies, and along with the United States, the demands for these finite sources of fuel are growing, he said.

"The U.S. has 3 percent of the world's population and uses 30 percent of the world's energy," he said. "If other countries got up to that rate, we'd suck the world's supply dry."

Along with cleaner energy sources and more energy efficiency, he said, the world will find ways to cope with the crises, especially when faced with higher prices.

He added that global warming is something the world should be more concerned with. Not in the future, but now.

"It's a real phenomenon that is upon is, and we have to do something about it very quickly," he said.

Born in Dunbar, Bayless went to school in Kanawha County until he entered the Greenbrier Military Academy in Lewisburg. After spending time in the Army, he graduated from the school now known as West Virginia University Institute of Technology with an electrical engineering degree.

"I would put my degree from Tech up against any other school's program. Tech is a real resource for Southern West Virginia," he said.

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