Coal Crazy

For the life, Stele Ely

** Coal Crazy v1 ** song stele2010

is that a purple alien smirking
in that jiggling jellow tree
or a two headed squirrel burping
what is reality

i gotta shut those coal plants down
before their black holes suck away
me and lots of kids in town
who want sanity today

burning coal is poison by the ton
SO2, VOCs, NOX, hydrogen fluoride
lead, arsenic and mercury
hydrochloric acid, formaldehyde

coal crazy, crazy coal
pains the brain, pains the soul

for some the poisons are no big deal
they’ve got genetic immunity
or the wind blows in right direction
or maybe they’re just lucky

for some the poisons are a little deal
they’re a little sad but don’t know why
or a little cold or a little pain
or a little mad or a little cry

but for some the poisons are a big deal
it messes up their heads big time
every dose becomes more toxic
as the chemicals go synergistic

coal crazy, crazy coal
woe my brain, woe my soul

I see the smokestack smoking
like an angel dancing round
but angel starts to moan
then melts into a skull and bone

i gotta shut those coal plants down
before their black holes suck away
me and other kids in town
who want clear minds today

coal crazy, crazy coal
pains the brain, pains the soul

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More anti-coal songs are welcomed. So, songwriters who add their songs below will be entered in my EcoLotto for a chance to win $4444, $444 and $44.

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Consider donating a few quarters to support this song and to keep Stele writing other environmental songs. Your tips will help get this song properly recorded and performed by touring musicians who can get this song working for our biosphere.

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notes:
poison in the water
poison in the soil
poison in the air
poison makes me boil

coal crazy, crazy coal
stop the poison or heads will roll

coal crazy, crazy coal
a black hole that makes heads roll

or maybe it’s a cancer slurping
the toxin rain I chance to drink
or maybe it’s a fat cat smurking
its one of those I think

sometimes ears are weirdly ringing
sometimes eyes go itchy stingy
I’m so alive, I’m so in love
but afraid I’m going crazy

coal crazy, crazy coal
woe my brain, woe my soul

*** COAL CRAZY v2 *** Christopher Macor/TingZen 2010
A long long time ago
A monster claimed the earth
His smokestack billowed fumes
And he filled the air with dirt
But people didn`t mind
He gave them energy
He made the people blind
They were coal crazy

The rivers were abused
They filled with mercury
Forty pounds a year
People were coal crazy
CO2 and other gases
Fogged the atmosphere
They didn`t seem to mind
Seemed there was nothing to fear

But then the evidence came in
Brain, kidneys, lungs
Eyes, ears and lack of coordination
Schizophrenia, and Alzheimer`s disease
Autism, acid rain and how about extinction!

A long long time ago
A monster claimed the earth
His smokestack billowed fumes
And he filled the air with dirt
But people changed their minds Despite the energy
They shut the coal plant down
They found their sanity TingZen 2010

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_poisoning

http://www.elephantjournal.com/2009/06/valmont-coal-plant-air-permit-hearing/

http://tuberose.com/Mercury.html

VALMONT COAL PLANT Boulder, Colorado
FACT: The Valmont coal plant adds about 2 pounds of mercury a month to the environment and consumes about 2 million gallons of water a day.
FACT: The Valmont coal plant has been off line for months at a time in the past half year–do we really need it?
FACT: Xcel has 15,000 MW of wind, solar and biomass bids sitting on their desks while the Valmont Plant is only 186 MW ( on its good days.)
LOGIC: Shouldn’t we be spending our energy dollars on clean Colorado wind and solar projects instead of on coal from Wyoming and creating 7 million pounds of CO2 per day while Colorado solar and wind projects await development?

Coal
-Tons Coal Used (2007) 535,000 Tons
-Approximate Coal Cost (2007) $26 million
-Cost Per MMBTU (2007) $1.78

Emissions
-Approx. CO2 Emitted Per Year 1.3 Million Tons
-Approx. SO2 Emitted Per Year 500 Tons
-Approx. NOx Emitted Per Year 1600 Tons
-Approx. Mercury Emitted Per Year 20-40 Pounds
Water
-Approx. Lead Emitted Per Year 309 Pounds
-Approx. Arsenic Emitted Per Year 302 Pounds
-Approx. Other Metals 7 Tons
-Approx. Formaldehyde 4.5 Tons
-Approx. Hydrochloric acid 2.5 Tons
-Approx. Hydrogen Flouride 3.9 Tons
-Approx. Particulate Matter 88 Tons
-Acre Feet Consumed Per Year 2459 acre-feet/yr
-Approx. Gallons Consumed Per Year 801 million gallons
-Approx. Gallons Per Day 2.1 million gallons

Fly Ash
-Tons Fly Ash Produced (2007) 91,408 Tons
-Cost of Fly Ash Disposal (2007 Non-Labor) $425,623
-Location of Fly Ash Disposal On site until 2015

Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies for Eliminating 1.3 Million Tons of CO2
-Eliminating 215, 996 Passenger Vehicles
-Elliminating the Electricity Use of 156, 204 Households
-Planting 30 Million Seedlings and Keeping Them Alive for 10 Years

Year Opened: 1964
Original Cost: $121 Million
Maximum Summer Capacity: 186 MW (Note: this plant was off line much of October 2008 – March 2009 due to coal resource and technical problems; may average 160 MW or less in future years)

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