Alex Gibney's Dirty Business

Are you for coal or against coal? Maybe better yet, are you for the preservation of the mountains and nature or are you against it? These questions held such a deep meaning and understanding that on the surface seemed immaterial to large corporations such as the Coal Mining Industry or political leaders within the State of West Virginia. Combating Mountaintop Removal by Bryan McNeil gives us the views of what it looks like from a grassroots environmental activist within the West Virginia coal country. In the book you see how the social and moral arguments are framed from different agents such as the Ant-MTRM (Mountain top removal) organization, the Coal Miners and Union works, to the Coal Mining Companies, and finally the State through political

Chapter Six depicts the rising concentration of carbon dioxide in the air due to the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation, which has resulted in the production of carbonic acid in oceans, the drop in pH of those oceans, and the death of marine life, including the Castello Aragonese.

It produces a great deal of our electricity; however, we don’t spend a lot of time thinking about the implications. As Goodell notes on the first page, “We love our hamburgers, but we’ve never seen the inside of a slaughterhouse.” Isn’t that the truth? When we fuel up our cars, we don’t think (much) about the ramifications of our oil dependence. When we flip a light switch, we do not associate that with the coal-driven mountaintop removals in West Virginia. In this book, “BIG COAL” Jeff describes Goodell thrusts those associations right in your face. He covers the history of the industry, tells the stories of the people in and around the business, and while most of the book is based on U.S.-happenings, he does spend a chapter in China. We would imagine the coal industry was none too pleased with Big Coal because it paints a really ugly picture of the industry. Goodell contrasts the coal industry with the individuals whose lives have been negatively impacted by coal in one way or another. He details corruption and politics that allowed the industry to delay implementation of pollution control equipment. And on a big picture level, he argues that continued usage of coal poses a serious threat to the earth’s

Oscar starts off by stating "Coal, the source of half the energy in the United States, has been dirtiest of all fossil fuels because it creates harmful emissions when burned." He goes on to talk about the new technologies that are being developed of clean ways to use coal. These technological advances "purify exhaust gasses as coal burns" which are called wet scrubbers. Low NOx burners prevent harmful emissions from happening in the first place. There is even a process called gasification, which avoids burning coal to

Kickstart Kids is an amazing program that has impacted my life and others around me in many different ways. Kickstart has helped me become the leader I am today, it has helped my shyness and make new friends, build my confidence and finding a passion that I love to do. I can start by saying how this program has impacted my life. Kickstart has helped me become a better leader because I can help out in classes and teach students everyday. I can also help out at my school and get involved to be the difference in the school. I can make new friends by going out and getting involved in things and meeting new people. I can meet people in this program that share the same love for the sport as I do. The Kickstart Kids program has helped me build my

While many coal producers don't believe that global warming exists it is pretty clear to the rest of us that the coal industry is causing some fairly serious effects on our world's climate and environment. Coal is currently the single biggest source of climate changing CO2 pollution in today's world. Yet Australia plans to invest in new coal mines such as the Adani Carmichael mine which will extract an extra 2 billion tonnes of coal and release an extra 4 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide into the world's atmosphere. We are breaching our international agreements and unless we stop burning coal

"Blowing Up Mountains: Destroying the Environment for Coal." YouTube. YouTube, 3 July 2012. Web. 12 Nov. 2015.

Identify one of the parties involved in the issues of coal mining and explain that party’s interest in the issue. One of the biggest industries described in the movie is Massey Energy. This is a large coal mining industry that is mining the Appalachia Mountains. They do not believe they are doing any harm. The workers truly think that they are putting the mountains back to how they left them. To the CEO and president of the company though, they know what they’re doing isn’t right. However, money seems to be more important to them than the lives of the

The narrative of clean coal has been propped up by the industries primary lobbyist group, the National Mining Association, with a budget of nearly twenty million dollars a year (Coniff). Lobbying is a natural part of the political process, but the issue becomes when the lobbying is disingenuous and the coal industry has zero intentions of implementing clean coal, based on the fact that no coal plants currently in the United States make use of any of the technology. Although the technology is still being developed, there are no future plans to implement it as well. On the other side, those who speak out against coal and clean coal are naturally groups concerned about the environment, such as the Environmental Protection Agency and green advocacy groups. They recognize that coal power plants are the primary contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in the United States and thus their emissions must be controlled (Eilperin and Mufson). They also believe even though limiting coal power plants will cost a great deal of money, the American people will have a net benefit due to lower public health costs as a result of air pollution while also benefitting globally by reducing greenhouse gas fueled climate change. Essentially, clean coal is pursued by those who have a vested commercial interest in its being as a mainstay of electricity generation, while those who oppose it are against the negative health and climate effects it

It goes on to discuss global warming and how wind and solar energy could help in the sustainability of our world. The only downfall of the programs ideas on solar and wind energy is money and the lack of funding which we

Jason Hayes, communications director for the American Coal Council says “the industry over the past few decades had invested over $100 billion in cleaning up emissions and it’s already been effective. All of the important noxious pollutants have decreased markedly over the last 30 to 40 years. We’ve been doing all of this on top of dealing with everything else.” Coal may not be green, but it is a source of energy American needs. It is cheap and efficient. Without coal, America wouldn’t be anywhere near where it is today. The coal mined here isn’t just used for energy. America’s

In the nineteen sixties, an ugly car was introduced called a Volkswagen. It was not a pretty car and about the best thing it had going for it was superior gas mileage and very reliable. The main problem was, it was ugly.

Climate change, specifically in reference to C02 Emissions released by human use of fossil fuels and their consequential effects on the environment, is perhaps one of the most pressing issues we, not just as Americans, but as human beings face in our lifetimes. Though it may sound like a sensationalist statement the facts are hard to deny. In May of 2013, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Wind and Solar” in which they go in depth on why the disposing of toxic carbon fuels and replacing with any other form of energy is detrimental to society. In their own words, “Whatever we decide, we need to make up our minds and fast. Carbon fuels are killing us, and killing the planet as well. And good planets are hard to come by” (Conley and Maloney). The topic of carbon fuels is a rising concern for many people. The burning of these fossil fuels is causing irreversible impacts on many things from our environments to our health. Throughout the years there have been many studies that have shown how the carbon fuels have distorted our health, all the way from something simple like asthma to severe heart problems and possibly premature death. Amongst all this, it’s making global warming rise at an alarming rate causing organisms like mosquitoes that carry diseases be able to roam at a larger extent. If we were to reduce our carbon fuel with something else like nuclear power, it would save thousands of lives and slowly take us out of the risks we suffer from carbon

Right now, the oceans are facing destruction. Each day new pollutants find their way into the ocean's waters. The pollutants that contaminate the ocean take many forms. Each year millions of gallons of oil are put into the ocean. Toxic materials are dumped into the oceans and add up to deadly proportions. Tons of trash such as plastics and paper are pulled out of the ocean each day. This trash contaminates the water and causes many deaths of marine animals. Everyone on the planet has polluted the oceans one way or another. Factories that are in various industries make an enormous contribution to ocean pollution. These factories use unbelievable amounts of water to make their products. The Natural Resource Defense Council says, "More than four out of every ten gallons of water used in the US are used for industrial purposes." A large amount of this water is dumped back into the oceans. This water is usually not clean, and may contain thousands of different chemicals. When this happens it can kill marine life, contaminate food supplies, and endanger people who use waters for fishing, swimming, or drinking. Water is also dumped back into the oceans by power plants who use it to cool reactors. This water is placed back into the oceans at high temperatures. Dumping water at these high temperatures causes a disruption in the marine environment. According to the book by Peter Weber, "The water from power