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A short essay on coal
Positive and negative effects of coal
Positive and negative effects of coal
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Technology and Society
There is a town in eastern Pennsylvania called Centralia. It was a mining town fairly typical of Pennsylvania in the 1880’s. Today it is virtually a ghost town. Interestingly, it has not been degraded due to the decline in the demand for coal. The decline in population in Centralia is due to a mine fire that was started in 1962 and has still not been extinguished today.
Many discussions these days of coal energy and society would include such topics as the pervasiveness of coal as an energy source in the world as well as the environmental impacts of using coal for energy. Looking at coal in Centralia, these topics take on a different perspective. Coal energy has certainly pervaded the lives of the people who lived in Centralia in the later part of the 20th century, but it did so in an unorthodox way. The coal in Centralia has also had some unusual environmental impacts. The uniqueness of this story is important to energy and modern society, especially when put in a science, technology and society perspective.
The objectives of this paper are to provide a brief history of Pennsylvania coal and the town of Centralia, and to critically analyze the science, technology, and society issues embedded in this story, with a look at the interconnectedness of these three elements.
In the 1700’s and 1800’s, Pennsylvania coal helped to fuel the Industrial revolution. Across the state, mining towns grew and employed many immigrants from Europe.
Pennsylvania was the fourth largest state in coal production, generating 25% of the total coal mined in the country. There are two kinds of coal found in Pennsylvania. Bituminous coal is found mostly on the western side of the state, and anthracite coal is found only in...
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...ne Fire History." http://www.offroaders.com/album/centralia/centralia-history.htm (30 October 2001).
Coombe, Tom. "Flora, Fauna, Fire! Centralia’s Extremes Researched." http://www.centraliapa.com/extremes/ (30 October 2001).
Kentucky Educational Television. "Using Coal in America." http://www.ket.org/Trips/Coal/AGSMM/agsmmusing.html (30 October 2001).
Ohneck, Carolyn and Dean Mann. "Pennsylvania Coal: A Technological, Social, and Cultural and Legacy." 11 October 2001. http://www.ems.psu.edu/~eser/STS420/Penncoal.ppt (30 October 2001).
Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. "Pennsylvania State History: The Era of Industrial Ascendancy 1861-1945." http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/bah/pahist/industry.asp?secid=31 (30 October 2001).
Wetzel, Joan. "Conyngham Township and Borough of Centralia." http://www.centraliapa.com/historytwp.htm (30 October 2001).
Centralia Coal Company was owned by Bell & Zoller Coal & Mining Company. Herbert E. Bell was the Chairman and William P. Young was the Vice President. Illinois ranked third in coal production. Four agencies had authority over coal mining at the time; the state of Illinois, the United States Government, Centralia Coal Company and the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA). The explosion in Centralia No. 5 occurred on March 25, 1947. Beginning with his appointment in 1941, State Mine Inspector Driscoll O. Scanlan sent inspection reports to the Department of Mines and Minerals (DMM) Director Robert M. Medill. The U.S. Bureau of Mines inspected Centralia No. 5 the first time in September 1942. Findings and recommendations were the same in all reports. Scanlan requested maintenance related to safety issues. The U.S. Bureau of Mines report supported his findings. In all this time nothing was done.
As the late Baroque period morphed into the new period known as the classical period, technological advances and new compositional techniques and ideas created new opportunities for the musicians of the period. The changes allowed for new performance techniques, forms, performance venues, and newly available compositional orchestrations to be improved and evolved into something new and improved for the new period.
The composers and their works gave definition to their time eras from the free-form ways of the Modern era to the concrete more formal structure of the Baroque period. Each composer brings a new aspect to their time and brings further value to the music, creativity and knowledge of their time periods.
This book by John Rupert Martin is a good introductory book in the understanding of Baroque artists and their tremendous variety. Martin defines the Baroque characteristics, but only very broadly leaving a significant amount of room for the reader to make his own deductions. In general, Martin believes that the typical definitions of the Baroque are "too restrictive and hence likely to create more problems of classification and interpretation than it solves." Even the time of the Baroque is left open to the reader when Martin says the Baroque is roughly comprehended by the seventeenth century. It is important to note at the outset that this is only a convenient approximation; for epoch as a whole can certainly not be fitted into such a strait-jacket." This helps to define the Baroque much more generally as a gradual change which can much easily be noticed from the present than the past.
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.
The Baroque’s operas was based on classic mythology but within the Classical era it turned to a more realistic contemporary subject reflecting the ideas of enlightenment present in the Classical era. Some major differences between these two eras operas though was the subject matter and form. Within the Baroque era the opera seria, or serious opera, was very common. Opera seria was characterized by the rigid form and appeal to authority or those in power. The later Baroque opera emphasized the strophic variation over the da capo aria was established as a vocal form. Along with these forms was the bipartite aria, which consisted of only A and B variations. In contrast with the late Baroque opera and its rigid alternation of recitative and aria, the middle Baroque opera retained great formal flexibility.The change from this rigid serious opera form came about the years of 1762 to 1783 when the introduction of a simpler more human like opera was introduced. This change can be somewhat contributed to Cristoph
There were many economic opportunities in Pennsylvania. The soil was fertile and there was plenty of land. Grain was a big export here and earned Pennsylvania the title as one of the "bread colonies". The water was also very clean, which helped to prevent diseases. The economic characteristics of Pennsylvania helped the economy to prosper.
The Baroque time was filled with musical geniuses. People like Franz Josef Haydn, George Frideric Handel, and Claudio Monteverdi. All of these people were amazing when holding an instrument, sitting at a piano, or writing on manuscript paper, but the finished products were and always will be superb. Johann Sebastian Bach and Antonio Vivaldi were among these musical prodigies.
Coal in the 1930’s: The First Lame Duck? European Union. 2002. Great Sutton Street, London. .
During the Baroque Age, many changes took place in the instrumental music area. This type of music became very popular and just as important as vocal music, with many new mechanical and technological developments taking place. The keyboard, strings, winds, and percussion were used to produce instrumental music. Among these instruments, the keyboard was a major one used for solo music and “basso continuo” (a musical notation used to signal chords, non-chords, and intervals in connection to bass notes) parts. The keyboard also was involved in an abundance of instrumental literature during this time. The three types of keyboards that existed were the organ (mainly used with church music and solo accompaniment), the clavichord (produces sound by the striking of a medal wedge against a string when a key is pressed), and the harpsichord (contains two keyboards and a sound that produces “quills” when the strings are plucked due to a key being pressed). G.F. Telemann, J.S. Bach, and G.F. Handel were three men that had a major impact on the development of keyboard music in the Baroque Age. With their superior musician skills, they left behind many pieces of music that we play and listen to today.
The Baroque period of music lasted from approximately 1600 – 1750 AD. It falls into the Common Practice period and was the most predominant style of writing after the Renaissance period and before the Classical period (the Classical period uses many elements from the Baroque period). The word Baroque means highly decorated and essentially gives us an insight into what the music of the time was like. Many pieces in the Baroque style have three or four different parts which work together to produce a melodic melody which modulates to relative keys. The Baroque period developed from the Renaissance period. These two periods shared the same idea of counterpoint, yet Baroque music differed from that of the Renaissance period by having stronger rhythms and longer melodies. The era was the beginning of a number of dance suites which all have different characteristics. For example the Minuet in simple triple time does not have an anacrusis and is graceful whilst the gigue is in compound duple time, has a short anacrusis and is often very contrapuntal (where the melody is shared between two o...
The Baroque era's name Baroque, meaning "exaggerated", "abnormal", or even "bizarre", cultivated some of the most revolutionary music and ideas in the timeline of composition itself. It's image, ranging from destitution and lavishness as shown through the period's art and political and economic being, has set this era apart in time through evolution and exploration. The culture and politics surrounding this era and the techniques and methods created are keys to understanding the baroque era and its success in progressing music to where it is today.
The Baroque period was “one of the most brilliant periods in history, standing squarely at the crossroads between medieval and modern times, this was an age of real achievement, strong hope, and vigorous actuality” (McKinney 270). The term Baroque comes from the Portuguese word barroco, meaning a pearl of irregular shape (Smith 31). Beginning in Italy, the Baroque period was known for its “grandiose concepts” and “magnificent effects”. The grandiose concepts were basically concepts that were grand and over the top. The magnificent effects were just fancy effects. Even while writing the music of that time, the composers would always make the notes fancy and curly. An era of emotional art and music, this period was divided into two time frames: the Early Baroque and the Late Baroque. The Early Baroque lasted from 1650 to 1700 (Britten 84). During this period, choruses and opera were widely popular. Dances were also choreographed to include grace into the songs when performed. Lasting from 1700 to 1750, the Late Baroque added a style of singing known as bel canto (Britten 85). In bel canto, the beauty of the sound overtook the importance of the dramatic dances. Summarizing these two periods, dramatic dancing became popular to go along with the music during the Early Baroque music and singing became popular to be performed along with the music during the Late Baroque. The Baroque period was also a time of numerous achievements. Driven by the influences of the Renaissance period, man began to realize what phenomenal things one could achieve. But what changes in music occurred at this time and what other achievements were made? The Baroque period was a phenomenal period still talked about today.
The Baroque Masters lecture performance by Dr. Yelena Grinberg showcased a selection of keyboard works composed during the Baroque Ear (1600-1750) by t Baroque Masters George Frederic Handel, Domenico Scarlatti, and Johann Sebastian Bach. The ideal of the Baroque period was that music should not only be pleasing, but it must also induce very strong, visceral emotions and stir the passions of the soul. Some important features of the Baroque ear are the precise and elevated rhythms, clear and defined meter, irregular or embellished melodies, and an enriched and unified texture which was he together by the ongoing ground bass known as basso continuo. Although each of these Baroque Masters composed music that was highly reflective of the Baroque
Technology is unavoidable in our modern lifestyle. You wake up, you use technology; you use technology while cooking, while eating, while driving. While you’re lying in bed before you fall asleep, you use technology, technology wakes you up in the morning. Is all the technology around you good for you, or is it harmful to your health? Was our society healthier or safer before all the advancements? So many questions and concerns about all of the technology we crave, but there are very few people who know the answers. Technology affects all parts of human life. It can create jobs, motivate people to get active, and assist people in learning, but this does not balance out that there are dangers that follow the use of technology.