Energy Resources

1376 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: fossil fuels impact on society

Energy is the single most important part of everyday life, and fossil fuels are a key part of the world’s energy resources. In fact, the most abundant and economically viable fossil fuel is coal. According to the U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA), the United States has the world’s largest recoverable reserves. Although domestic usage has decreased from “its annual share of total net generation of 50% in 2007 to 37% in 2012”, exportation of U.S. coal is steadily increasing. Even if domestic net usage continues to decrease in the future, exports are sure to increase with more and more countries beginning to industrialize and look for cheap, reliable energy resources. But in order to use coal as energy, it must be mined. Selecting a method depends on many different environmental restraints, “such factors as topography, geometry of the coal seam, and geology of the overlying rocks, and most importantly, economic restraints” (Hermann 2011) all play a role in method selection. There are two main extraction techniques of coal mining; the first technique used is surface mining. Surface mining is where the topsoil is removed by machinery and the coal is then extracted from the exposed coal seam. Surface mining includes mountaintop, open pit, contour, highwall and area mining. These different mining techniques are used depending on environmental and economic factors. The second, more conventional extraction technique is underground mining which includes longwall, as well as room and pillar mining. This is where Victaulic can provide efficient extraction techniques leading to financial savings, quick installation, increases safety and decreasing the need of future fittings. Victaulic piping solutions play an important role in mining by cr...

... middle of paper ...

...E Tribal Energy Development Guide, World Coal Institute, USGS, Mineral
Information Institute, Kentucky Geological Survey, and National Mining Association. "Coal Mining Technologies." Http://teeic.anl.gov. Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development, 31 Oct. 2000. Web. 20 Feb. 2014.

Hermann, Fred W. "Types of Coal Mining." Types of Coal Mining. ILO, 2011. Web. 20
Feb. 2014.

Kentucky Geological Survey. "Methods of Mining." Http://www.uky.edu/KGS/. KGS,
The University of Kentucky, 1 Aug. 2012. Web. 20 Feb. 2014.

U.S. Energy Information Administration. "What Is the Role of Coal in the United
States?" EIA's Energy in Brief: What Is the Role of Coal in the United States U.S. Department of Energy, 16 Aug. 2013. Web. 19 Feb. 2014.

Vermeulen, Anine. "Company Designs Innovative Mine-pump Fittings." Mining
Weekly. Creamer Media, 8 Feb. 2013. Web. 20 Feb. 2014.

Show More
Related

  • Overview Of The Powder River Basin

    3062 Words  | 7 Pages

    The Powder River Basin coal beds are some of the thickest in the world helping to make the basin one of the top producers not only nationally but globally as well. Although the coals are low rank and therefore not ideal for producing electricity, the sheer amount of coal in the basin makes it very economical to mine these coals. The low ash and low sulfur content of the Powder River Basin coals also make the coal ideal for the current marketplace. The low ash and sulfur content helps to make these coals relatively environmentally friendly in comparison to coals that are mined from places like Illinois, which have higher sulfur contents. The vast amount of resources that the Powder River Basin contains makes this region of the United States a major player when it comes to supplying energy for the next century.

    Read More

  • Mountain Top Removal Is an American Tragedy

    1447 Words  | 3 Pages

    A machine known as a dragline then digs into the rock to reveal the coal, the machines hollow out the tiers of coal and dump millions of overburden, the previous mountaintops, into constricted nearby valleys, thereby producing valley fills. Coal companies have covered over 1,200 miles of biologically crucial Appalachian headwaters streams.

    Read More

  • US Needs to Have Energy Independence

    795 Words  | 2 Pages

    U.S. Energy Information Administration. Independent Statistics & Analysis: U.S. EIA. March 15, 2012. http://www.eia.gov/countries/index.cfm?view=consumption (accessed March 16, 2014).

    Read More

  • Degradation of Appalachian Mountains

    1825 Words  | 4 Pages

    One major business of the Appalachian mountain range is the coal mining industry; the range is the second-highest supplier of coal in America (Wuerthner, 2008). A common method of coal-extraction, mountaintop removal, results in mountain peaks becoming plateaus. The use of 300 million pounds of an explosive, ammonium nitrate rich fuel allows miners to remove hundreds of feet off mountain peaks each day, making the underlying coal more accessible and thus the extraction more efficient (Reece, 2006 & Shnayerson, 2008). The proces...

    Read More

  • Natural Gas Essay

    704 Words  | 2 Pages

    List the major sources of energy in the US from highest percentage to lowest percentage.

    Read More

  • Oil Resources in Canada

    2662 Words  | 6 Pages

    Coal is one of the world’s most abundant fossil fuels. Coal was formed during the Carboniferous Period when dead plant material was buried and subjected to high pressure and heat. Coal is classified by moisture content and composition. There are four d...

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Mountaintop Removal

    714 Words  | 2 Pages

    Roughly 68 percent of the electricity generated in the United States of America is produced by fossil fuels. That includes petroleum, natural gases and coal. Although coal contributes around 37 percent to the factor, it is by far not the cleanest of them all. Some might argue that it is good for the economy because it is cheap and it creates jobs.. But the other side of the story portrays coal mining as a process that kills thousands of coal miners a year and that it practically destroys the environment around the mining with soot and air pollution. Mining now days is a big part of urbanization; due to how cheap the process is. There are different ways that coal mining is done. Mainly mountain top removal is done but there are many other

    Read More

  • Positive and Negative Effects of Coal

    1036 Words  | 3 Pages

    Coal has a very negative impact on the environment, one of the main impacts on the environment is the actual process of extracting the coal from the ground. The two ways that coal is mined, underground and surface, both have different effects on the environment. The first way that coal is mined is by digging tunnels and creating mineshafts underground and then removing the coal from th...

    Read More

  • Coal Fires

    718 Words  | 2 Pages

    I’ve long been familiar with the concept of coal mines, but a common occurrence I was unfamiliar with previous to this class was the concept of coal mine fires, but it is a huge problem, both economically and environmentally.

    Read More

  • The Use of Coal for Power Should Continue

    1962 Words  | 4 Pages

    The development of science and technology has led to people considering using alternative fuels to generate electricity. There are many alternative fuels that can generate electricity, such as natural gas, nuclear energy, wind energy, hydraulic power and so on (Fossil Fuels Used to Generate Electricity Power Plant Emissions of North America). According to the statistics by the U.S. Energy Information Administration in 2009, the usage of coal was still the largest source to generate the power. Sources of electricity in the United States were generated by 44.9% of coal, 20.3% of nuclear, 23.4% of natural gas, 1% of petroleum, 6.9% of hydroelectric conventional and 3.6% of others (Electric Power Monthly with Data for February 2014). Coal is the main source of electricity in many parts of the world, including the United States. One of the reason why most countries prefer to use coal to generate the electricity is that the cost of using coal is cheaper than other sources but powerful. The coal power stations are much easier to set up than other power station. There are many advantages in generating power from coal. Coal as a source of electricity is economic, safe, effective and it is easy to eliminate the secondary pollutions and so on. As a result, the usage of coal should remain its status and cannot be replaced by other fuels.

    Read More

  • Fossil Fuels vs. Renewable Energy

    1889 Words  | 4 Pages

    United States. Energy Information Administration. “Electric Power Monthly with Data for February 2014” eia.gov. US Energy Information Administration, 22 Apr. 2014. Web. 8 May 2014.

    Read More

  • Acid Mine Drainage

    1376 Words  | 3 Pages

    Acid mine drainage refers to water (leachate, drainage or seepage) that has come into contact with oxidised rocks or overburden that contains sulphide material (coal, zinc, copper, lead). (Keller, 2000; U.S.G.S.; U.S.E.P.A., 2002). A common sulphide is pyrite, or iron disulfide (FeS2), and throughout this essay it will be pyrite that will be the primary sulphide considered. Acid mine drainage is not a new phenomenon, early mining techniques utilized gravity to avoid water pooling, resulting in the water becoming polluted by acid, iron, sulphur and aluminium (U.S.E.P.A., 2002). It is most commonly associated with coal mining, especially with soft coal, coal that has high sulphur content. The pyrite that is present in coal seams will be accessible after surface mining when the overlying surfaces are removed or in deep mines that allow oxygen access to the previously inaccessible pyrite-containing coal (D.E.P. 1, 1997). After pyrite is exposed to air and water, sulphuric acid and iron hydroxide are formed, creating an acidic runoff (D.E.P. 1, 1997; 2 2002).

    Read More

  • Welding Research Paper

    1389 Words  | 3 Pages

    "Soldering Tutorial: Types of Soldering & Soldering Process." EngineersGarage. EngineersGarage, n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.

    Read More

  • Fossil Fuels and Alternative Energy Sources

    2001 Words  | 5 Pages

    Fossil fuels are an important part of life. When you turn on the lights, watch TV, or take a shower, the electricity that you are using is being generated by fossil fuels. The three types of fossil fuels are coal, crude oil, and natural gas. They all take millions of years to form, so they are considered to be “non-renewable”- eventually, the fossil fuels will all be used up. One dangerous biological effect of using fossil fuels is ocean acidification. Extracting and transporting fossil fuels can also be very dangerous. Environmentally damaging accidents such as groundwater contamination, land subsidence, and oil spills occur frequently. Global warming is another possible environmental effect. Fossil fuels have a crucial role in modern society, but since they are non-renewable and dangerous, we should reduce our dependence on them and explore alternative energy sources. Wind energy, hydroelectricity, and solar energy are some examples of renewable fuel sources. There are also many things that people can do everyday to save energy (and, in turn, conserve fossil fuels).

    Read More

  • Alternative Renewable Energy

    699 Words  | 2 Pages

    With the depletion of fossil fuel resources comes speculations and debates about alternative energy sources. The world, including the Philippines, is practically dependent on a dwindling non-renewable source of energy. Today, experts are debating about and considering three options: Nuclear, Solar, or Wind Energy. Everyone has been accustomed to the bad image of nuclear energy as a result of the Chernobyl and Fukushima incidents above all others. The popular belief is that radiation from a nuclear meltdown is very harmful to humans and other living things—which is true—and that nuclear power plants are very dangerous and not ideal—which is not. According to Smith, et. al (n.d), all the nuclear disasters that ever occurred were caused by human error and natural disasters like tsunamis, not one because of system failure. Putting the false beliefs aside, with proper engineering and adequate maintenance by experts, a nuclear power plant is a very ideal and viable source of energy for the following reasons:

    Read More

More about Energy Resources

Open Document