As the decision passes to give FutureGen the go-ahead, many local residents share concerns over the new one of a kind facility and its ideas of carbon sequestration.

FutureGen is a new idea based around 30 years of research with the intentions of placing carbon dioxide, a byproduct of coal, almost 2 miles beneath the ground rather than letting it escape into our atmosphere contributing to global warming.

The idea sounds environmentally friendly and carries more than enough monetary appeal to the state, but as for the locals of Coles County, some are not convinced that it is the right course of action.

If you’re a local, and chances are even if you’re not, you know the look of distress in the eyes of the numerous displaced workers who have watched their jobs and lives fold as the factories that have kept many going for so long have folded before them.

Many fear that FutureGen, being a test facility, might have the potential to become another empty shell taking up space on the outskirts of town.

As the energy crisis grows so does alternative research, which in the end might prove more logical and efficient than FutureGen. If that proves to be the situation, FutureGen could become outdated before it ever takes off.

At first glance, it looks like an enormous benefit to Illinois and to Coles County. It has the potential to create up to 4,000 construction jobs as well as the possibility of up to 200 in plant jobs and the possibility of another 1,200 or so spin-off jobs. The monetary gain for Illinois could reach $135 million annually as well as $85 million annually for Coles County.

Almost sounds peachy keen, right?

On the other hand, many are concerned that once more technology is researched – thanks to our growing energy crisis – Mattoon might be stuck facing an empty factory. They will face broken hearts of former employees that again have to go home and worry about how they will feed their children and face their families with no income, as well as the permanently stored carbon miles beneath the land.

Many question the safety of underground carbon sequestration as is.

For one, Mattoon sits in a spot that has the potential for rather destructive earthquakes, as do many locations in Illinois within so far of the New Madrid fault line. Residents question the ability of these storage facilities to withstand such powerful quakes in the event that they occur. After all what is the point of underground storage if it has the potential to one day resurface causing greater damage?

On August 21, 1986, natural carbon deposits in Lake Nyos, located in Cameroon on the west side of Africa, surfaced, killing 1,700 people and over 3,000 cattle.

Many share the concern of Mattoon virtually becoming the guinea pig in the fight to end America’s ever growing energy crisis and wonder the real future of FutureGen, as well as the future safety of their children and grandchildren to be.

Julian Russell is a communication studies major. He can be reached at 581-7942 or at [email protected].