Coal’s Impact
Coal is considered a fossil fuel that traces back to prehistoric times. Coal is formed from the remains of vegetation life that grew over 400 million years ago. Coal is a very abundant natural resource for the United States. Over 90 percent of the coal that is consumed in the United States is used to generate electricity. Coal has an important role in energy in the United States because of our increasing dependence on this natural element. Coal’s role in the United States economy is either positive or negative depending on whose view you take political and socially. The question we must ask ourselves and society is the financial gains that can be made by coal production worth the impact on our health and environment.
There are two methods to remove coal from the ground: surface mining and deep surface mining. The United States Department of Environmental Protection defines surface mine “the removal of soil, sub-soil, and other strata and then extracting a mineral deposit found fairly close to the earth’s surface”. Surface mining is removing the mountain top to expose the coal seams and then disposing of what you do not want from the mountain top to other areas. Mountain top removal is a very profitable procedure. The process of mountain top removal can be performed quickly and is very economical for the companies who own the land. According to the United Stated Department of Environmental Protection the following steps are involved in surface mining:
• Layers of rock and dirt above the coal (called overburden) are removed. • The upper seams of coal are removed with spoils place in an adjacent valley. • The draglines excavate lower layers of coal and spoils place in spoil piles. • Regarding begins as coal exca...
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... adopted in the 1980s devised to ensure competition, more than 80 percent of sales in the past 20 years had received only one bid. The report said the process for computing the value of the leases was faulty, costing the government millions. At the current rate of coal leasing, the inspector general found, every penny-a-ton undervaluation costs taxpayers $3 million”(Broder 2013).
The scandal involving the leases is additional support for the political power that the coal industry has.
Political or Social
The issues discussed on the safety of coal production on the health of the United States citizens and the environment is enormous. The fact that over 90% of coal usage is to generate electricity and at a cheaper cost . Coal is like a four letter word depending on your political and social views. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIORBUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
Wyoming
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
Coal is considerably one of the most important sources of energy in nature and is one the most significant sources for power generation worldwide. The excavation and importance of coal became mainstream and apparent during the Industrial Revolution of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Coal also can be very damaging to the environment. People in the coal industry don’t always follow the precautions needed for helping the recovering environment that coal mining hurt. Most of the time water is polluted from the byproduct the is produced while mining coal. Like acid mine drainage, air pollution from coal-fired power plants, coal dust, coal sludge, and mountaintop
Clean Coal Technologies (CCTs) are defined by the WCI as 'technologies designed to enhance both the efficiency and the environmental acceptability of coal extraction, preparation and use' . These technologies reduce emissions, reduce waste, and increase the amount of energy gained from each ton of coal. There are a wide variety of technologies that are available to improve our coal performance. This can be done by: Enhancing of existing options, Deploying of Advanced Technologies, Exploiting Synergies with Renewables, and Development and Commercialization of Next Generation Technologies (“Coal”). Some environmental problems that they will be trying to address are: Particulate matter, trace elements and SOX and NOX, and mercury.
As a Kentucky resident, I understand that coal is much more than form of energy, for many it is a way of life. Kentucky is the third largest producer of coal in the United States, and for many families in Eastern Kentucky, the coal industry has provided stable employment for generations. I would like to make clear that I am not speaking out against coal mining in general; I am speaking out against one method of mining. Mountaintop removal mining is the most destructive form of coal extraction in existence...
It is made up of sedimentary and organic rock which is composed mainly of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. Coal is straight from the ground, which also gives many men and women jobs as well as risking their lives working on the unknown underground. There are multiple ways to convert coal into energy we use in an everyday basis. The first step is the first stage of turning coal into electricity, grinding the coal into fine powder and so forth. There are pros that come from the underground such as creating over four hundred thousand volts. As of today they are growing in large economies. They say, "the cheaper the better". In this case, using coal, "the cheaper it is, the less your guaranteed". More than 1.1 billion tons are being made as of 2007. An estimated five billion people work in China 's coal mining industry. As many as 20,000 miners die in accidents each year. Yes, they do give plenty of people the opportunity of some sort of work with good pay, but it has its downfall as well such as deaths, that are pretty unexplainable. The number one con that coal causes, has to be pollution. Pollution can start from anything like throwing a water bottle after a long practice, or chemically, like a cigarette you throw out of your car. Pollution is already exposed by the refineries, factories and diesel vehicles. Pollution is the start of what changes the color and texture of our land and ocean. The coal companies use water to create the steam in the boiler taking out water from a lake, after they are finished with the water from the boiler some toxins get in the water and released into our oceans and seas. Plus, the burning of coal which is called ash, that we humans inhale even though we might not see it. Think of it as a dark, smoky layer in the bubble called an atmosphere, and we are stuck standing in the middle. Some coal mining companies are getting a bargain on federal land and skirting export royalties,
The myths must be dispelled. First of all, coal is not a bountiful. It is a nonrenewable resource and, according to a United States Geologic Survey, it is only expected...
Although coal mining is important to local and global economies, there are many environmental impacts of both the mining and use of coal that must be considered. Actions can be taken to mitigate these environmental impacts but it is up to scientists to identify these potential problems and put plans into action before it is too late.
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...
What comes to mind when you think of coal mining? If you're like me, coal mining means living in darkness and a cold hearted industry. Other words that come to mind are poverty and oppression. Coal mining is not a job that you dream about or get a degree for. People who are coal miners do not chose a life full of danger and repression, they get stuck with it. There are many dangers that come along with coal mining, not only for the workers, but for the environment. Coal mining and the coal industry have caused irreversible damage to our environment and has killed innocent miners.
Specifically, in the United States, there has been an exponential increase in use of electricity over the past few decades. With technology advancing, everyone feels the need to stay up to standards. But, what comes with these new technologies is not as beneficial to the earth as they are to us. The United States Environmental Protection Agency recently posted a “Guide to Purchasing Green Power” which explains that our electricity is mostly made through fossil or nuclear fuels that harm not only our environment but ourselves as well. Some examples of fossil fuels are coal, natural gas and petroleum. These electricity techniques give off lots of pollution and significantly increase greenhouse gas emissions (2). Looking specifically at coal, there are many ways in which it causes environmental issues. Herman Daly explains that to retrieve the coal, miners must take the coal out of the earth, which can leave the surface with detrimental issues. The leftover rock that was extruded with the coal is now contaminated and left in piles, which
electricity generation, which accounts for 90 percent of its total usage. The U.S. is the second largest producer of coal, falling behind China. At the end of 2003, there was an estimated 268 billion tons of coal reserves in the U.S. (Agency, Coal - Clean Energy, 2013) The U.S. produced 948 million short tons of coal in 2013, with now over 10 trillion short tons in reserve. U.S. mining operations support over 500 coal burning power plants, supplied by U.S. rail systems. (EIA, 2014) Coal is currently gaining ground in terms of demand. Despite the negative associations given to coal, it has many positives. There is an abundance of coal in large quantities that is readily available on-hand locally in the United States. This can save on importation fees. It is safer than natural gas to transport; however, mining can still be somewhat dangerous. Above all, it is the cheapest source of energy that is available at this time. (Nersesian, 2010) Coal is relatively inexpensive and in thriving in a mature industry. It is very abundant in highly industrialized countries, and can be transformed into a liquid or gas which burns cleaner. (Association, 2014)
Coal mining is not just dangerous to the environment but also a big life and health risk to the workers themselves. Coal miners live the risk of getting trapped in the coal mines if something goes wrong as in an explosive goes off and covers the way out. Since coal mines are deep into mountain sides the possibility of getting the workers out is very low because it is very hard to reach them. In a mine in Mexico, 65 miners got trapped and died due to an explosion that went wrong. There are approximately 6,000 deaths every year in the mines of china. They are the ones that cause the most deaths.
Burning and mining coal for fuel is harmful to the environment but because how cheap and easy it is to find many people are unwilling to give it up as a fuel source. One of the problems with coal is that they are limited and are non-renewable so once it has been used we won’t be able to use it again.
Fuels like coal, and oil that once were a fine innovation in creating energy are now rapidly deleting and one day will be gone forever; energy that won’t last is often referred to as non-renewable energy. Besides being set up to fail and become inefficient in the future, fossil fuel energy is not clean to use and poses several environmental complications. Coal, for instance is “the dirtiest of all fossil fuels. Coal combustion not only produces sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides that contribute to acid rain and snow, it generates millions of tons of particulates that cause asthma and other respiratory diseases.” As with all usage of fossil fuels, it creates enormous amounts of carbon dioxide, which contributes to greenhouse gas. Not only are fossil fuels dirty, they also pose as a security risk and unforgiving on the American wallet. (Saini)