We need strong protection from the toxic emissions of CO2, sulfur, and nickel.
Petroleum Coke or "Petcoke" is a byproduct of the refining of tar sands that yields on average 54% more CO2 than a ton of coal. It includes sulfur and nickel toxins. 15 to 30 percent of a barrel of tar sands bitumen can end up as petcoke depending on the upgrading and refining process used.
U.S. refineries produced over 62 million tons of petcoke in 2011 and if the Keystone XL pipeline from the Alberta, Canada tar sands field goes through, the U.S. will be refining 15,000 tons a day more.
Petcoke costs 25% less than coal and is being sold as a coal substitute or as a blend (20%-30%) to our public utilities just as those utilities are retiring the use of coal in favor of using more environmental natural gas.