How Coal Power Plants May Be Harming The Global Water Supply

In this Nov. 13, 2013 file photo, the Ameren Corp. coal-fired power plant is seen outside the southern Illinois town of Newton. Illinois officials say the state will need a mix of power sources and energy efficiency initiatives to meet proposed federal limits for carbon pollution. On Monday, June 2, 2014, the Obama administration unveiled a plan to cut carbon dioxide emissions from power plants by 30 percent by 2030. About 40 percent of Illinois’ energy comes from coal.
In this file photo, the Ameren Corp. coal-fired power plant is seen outside the southern Illinois town of Newton. Jim Suhr / AP Photo
In this Nov. 13, 2013 file photo, the Ameren Corp. coal-fired power plant is seen outside the southern Illinois town of Newton. Illinois officials say the state will need a mix of power sources and energy efficiency initiatives to meet proposed federal limits for carbon pollution. On Monday, June 2, 2014, the Obama administration unveiled a plan to cut carbon dioxide emissions from power plants by 30 percent by 2030. About 40 percent of Illinois’ energy comes from coal.
In this file photo, the Ameren Corp. coal-fired power plant is seen outside the southern Illinois town of Newton. Jim Suhr / AP Photo

How Coal Power Plants May Be Harming The Global Water Supply

WBEZ brings you fact-based news and information. Sign up for our newsletters to stay up to date on the stories that matter.

According to a new Greenpeace report, the world’s 8000-plus coal-fired power plants consume enough water to meet the basic needs of more than 1 billion people. 

We’ll talk with Harri Lammi, senior global campaigner for coal and water at Greenpeace-East Asia. He co-authored the report, The Great Water Grab: How the Coal Industry is Deepening the Global Water Crisis. He tells us why he believes that coal power plants and other “human activities are depleting [the] planet’s water resources at an alarming rate.”