The Salem Harbor power plant is a serious threat to the public health – and it may only get worse. There is a severe concern about toxic air emissions from the prior waste disposal practices. That is why Bush’s energy plan doesn’t quite work? In the Salem Evening News it says that, “The Bush plan only pays lip service to the threat of global warming, the greatest environmental danger of our time.” (Kert Davies) The Bush plan may of solved the threat of global warming, but in reality Pollution from oil- and coal-burning power plants kills more people in Massachusetts every year than homicides and drunken driving combined.
Why should the public be harmed every time they decide to take a jog around the block? People are dying each year due to the Salem Harbor power plant. “The activists planted crosses to symbolize the deaths caused by the mining and burning of coal made, making the point that the Bush plan is over reliant on coal, a dirty energy source.” (Davies) Not only does the Salem Harbor power plant kill people each year but other plants such as; “Brayton Point in Somerset; Canal Station in Sandwich; Mystic Station in Everett; Mt. Tom Station in Holyoke; and Somerset Station in Somerset” (Davies) kill people too. The real factor that kills the people is the coal. It may not seem it but “coal kills the people who mine it, and when corporate polluters burn it – coal destroys our air, and shortens lives.” (Davies) So should the general public be harmed everyday when they decide to go for a jog in the morning?
What can be done to prevent coal from being used? There are enough new gas-fired power plants under construction to supply nearly half of New England’s peak demand. “Two new gas pipelines are now operational, adding enough natural gas supply to New England to power all the new plants currently being built.” (Davies) We don’t get our power from a particular power plant, but from the web of power plants and transmission lines across the region called the “grid.” “These new plants will come on line over the next one to two years, to compete against the old, dirty units to supply our electric power.” (Davies) So using the gas pipelines is one way to cut down on the coal. How about another way?
In fact there
Salem Village was one of many non-urban inhabitants. They were looked upon as country folk because of their interests and beliefs in the church and growing tobacco to survive in this new land. There was not much for children to do except go to church, work on the fields, or go to school. You can imagine how bored these children can get. In such a secluded lifestyle as this, you would be a crazy person if you were at all different, and this episode would be so different that it would be traumatic to the people of this small village. Traumatic as it was, I believe the people just did not know how to react in such a situation.
In the video “Fracking Hell: The Untold Story” by Link TV explains how natural gas has been a huge problem not only for the earth in general but for everyone and everything living in it. The video explains how North East of Pennsylvania is having difficulties to conserve a healthy environment and people. North East of Pennsylvania is the main sources to extract gas and send it throughout the United States for gasoline and so on. However, this action is wonderful for the cost of gas, but has a huge impact on the environment and the people living in Pennsylvania. A lot of people in this state are worried having health issues because everything is not usable is being thrown out to the rivers where they get their fresh water.
The United States government is known to give its citizens great advise with much care and concern. With this being known, many people come to the conclusion that United States citizens can faith in the government when it comes to making crucial decisions. Terry Tempest Williams is not one of these people. In “The Clan of the One-Breasted Women”, Williams gives her views on the government conducting nuclear tests in Utah. In contrast, in “America’s Energy Plan in Action: Bearing Witness,” an article Williams contributed to Orion magazine and OrionOnline, Williams speaks on issues containing actions of the government drilling for oil and natural gases. This is also conducted in Utah. Both of these articles share a common topic and tone. These two pieces both focus around major concerns for the Earth and how the government will is helping to destroy it for things like nuclear testing and drilling for oil and gases.
(Action): If we don’t do our part to stop the expansion of nuclear power plants, the future of our planet will be bleaker. Every year, thousands of more pounds of nuclear waste will be buried underground and the damage to our environment increases. There are more efficient energy sources other than nuclear power and we must do our part today to prevent a catastrophic future for our children. The dangers that nuclear power plants pose for the United States are very real. There are many alternative renewable sources of energy available to us such as wind and solar power, which provide a much safer and efficient alternative to nuclear power. You alone have the power to speak up and act against the expansion of this dangerous energy. The future of our environment’s safety and our nation’s energy supply lies in your hands.
Nuclear Energy has many proponents and much opposition. Many of the groups that oppose nuclear power have legitimate concerns, mainly with the dangers of nuclear material in relation with human health concerns and environmental troubles that are risked by allowing nuclear power plants to increase in number. Yet, many of these opposition groups have made outspoken and radical claims about the “hidden” motives of why nuclear power is promoted and subsidized by our federal government. For example, The Nuclear Information and Resource Service claim that the federal government has the intention of committing genocide against Native Americans because uranium mining is predominantly done on reservations. Another cry out by nuclear power opponents is the constant reliving of the few nuclear mishaps that occurred decades ago, at Chernobyl or Three Mile Island. No doubt, past accidents have happened worldwide and are important reminders to not play around with nuclear material, but technology has improved as well, a fact opponents fail to consider. Many of these organizations feel that other sources should be used to supply America’s energy needs. These types of statements tag many opponents to nuclear energy as misinformed, out of touch with scientific facts, or just closed minded to the whole concept of nuclear power. On the other hand, the proponents of nuclear energy like President Bush see it as cheap, and environmentally friendly. As a result, President Bush passed the Comprehensive Energy Bill in 2005 that would increase production of all types of energy, including nuclear, by giving subsidies and tax breaks to nuclear power producers. Keeping safe America’s capabilities for generating electric power by way of nuclear e...
Currently, the Grand River is experiencing problems with toxic chemicals that continue to kill off fish and other underwater wildlife. The majority of these chemicals are released by the Eckert Power Plant located within Moores River Park. Mark Nixon, The Communications Director for The Board of Water and Light, explains that the plant releases enormous amounts of “mercury, sulfur and nitrogen compounds” (15). The Board of Water and Light is working on trying to make the river cleaner in addition to reducing emissions of these harmful chemicals while in the process of moving towards natural gas over coal. An editor for the Physicians of Social Responsibility in the article “Coal Ash” explains that the use of coal is danger...
In 2010, roughly 25 percent of the nation’s energy came from natural gas, a “fossil fuel” which American consumers and businesses heavily depend on for transport, light, and heat (Squire 6). As the U.S. population increases, so do the country’s energy needs. Political debate over how the U.S. can meet those needs has slowly simmered for several decades, escalating exponentially when the energy supply grows short. Disputes over just how clean natural gas is, as opposed to coal, dominate headlines and presidential campaigns alike. During the presidency of George W. Bush, a bill exempting oil and gas companies from federal environmental restrictions was passed, thus paving the way for natural gas companies to expand production across the nation utilizing a new drilling technology, enabling easier extraction of shale gas. The drilling process of hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” has become synonymous with controversy. Why? Fracking involves injecting dangerously toxic chemicals, mixed with large quantities of water and sand, into wells at extremely high pressure, to release natural gas. Promoted by the natural gas industry as a cleaner, safer alternative to coal, the process of fracking has made shale gas plentiful, which sounds to some Americans as the best answer to their energy prayers. However, the negative consequences associated with the extraction of natural gas through fracking, including environmental hazards and threats to public health, far outweigh the benefits.
Media coverage of such cases have made the public less comfortable with the idea of moving further towards nuclear power and they only opt for reducing human activities to reduce global warming. It is true that there have been some notable disasters involving nuclear power, but compared to other power systems, nuclear power has an impressive track record. First, it is less harmful and second, it will be able to cater for the growing world population. Nuclear power produces clean energy and it delivers it at a cost that is competitive in the energy market (Patterson). According to the US Energy Information Administration, there are currently 65 such plants in the Unite States (National Research Council). They produce 19 percent of the total US energy generation.
Nuclear energy has been proven to have negative effects on the health of nearby residents. The radiation produced by nuclear power plants has been known to increase nearby inhabitants’ chances of developing breast cancer and childhood leukemia. “According to the energy Justice Network, 268 countries within 50 miles of nuclear reactors had breast cancer death rates 10 times the national average” (www.discovery.com). Alternative energy sources such as solar power, wind power, and hydroelectric energy produce enough energy to sustain America’s needs without the harmful radiation by-product.
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
As the nuclear waste, the chemical pollutants are harmful and carcinogen for human, therefore, their use need to be minimized and substituted to product with lower effect on people effect. The emission of coal fired power plants are not only harmful for human beings but also animals and plants, so the better solution would be to upgrade the industries responsible of those emissions for ones that have lower production of harmful particles. About fracking, which is a way to get supplies in many resources like oil and gas, I think that at some point it allow a nation’s self- reliance and support the economy growth; however, its use is the cause of multiple health issues and damages to the environment. Despite the benefit of it, I really think they should be severely regulated while scientist find a new way to extract resources. It would not only reduce the possibility to arm the environment, but also, the effect would lower the degradation of the ozone layer.
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.
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.
This article is about coal and the dangers of mining and using this natural resource. The article states that coal is used in production of half of the electricity that Americans utilize. Coal is a cheap form of natural resource and was once a growing industry, but now due to the fear of climate change and the effects on the environment it is slowly declining. There are now so many regulations attached to mining coal that many coal plants have shut down and left thousands out of work. Coal mining is a very dangerous job and leads to many deaths throughout the years. In 1992 in Wise County, Virginia eight miners were killed due to numerous violations that went unnoticed and ignored. A buildup of methane gas resulted in an explosion that killed
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)