In my town, a tires-to-energy plant has been proposed, and it’s having trouble with the zoning laws. Apparently, the plant’s smoke stacks would be too high for the zoning regulations. If I lived downwind from the plant, I’d rather see the tall smoke stacks and know that the emissions would have less of an impact on me than if the stacks were lower. Burning tires seems awfully dirty, but we burn coal for electricity, so what’s the difference? I’ll bet a state-of-the-art, tires-to-energy plant would have less of an impact on the environment than an older coal-to-electricity plant. No one wants the plant in their backyard, but this is one step to decreasing our dependence on foreign oil.
2026 Note: The plant was never built. I have a different view of this issue now. I wouldn’t want such a plant built near me. . .
