Coal Employed Power

Answer = Based on my observations, the effects of pollution can change the environment severely causing great damage. It reduces the air quality that we breathe in from reeking factory waste to vehicle exhaust, which creates that smog look hanging over Los Angeles. It also affects our planet and food supply that we depend on to survive.

The article, “Coal and the Environment”, provides the readers will and understanding of how coal works and also how it is dangerous to our environment. Coal on its own is not dangerous to the environment but once the coal is burned, then pollutants are released into the air causing for less clean air. The government has taken a stand on the industries polluting the air we breathe in everyday with the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act. These two acts put restrictions on industries that allow for safer and cleaner air.

It provides more than ninety-seven percent of all electricity generated by renewable sources. Water is easily accessible because it makes up almost seventy-five percent of the earth. The water supply grows every year, because of the snow and rain fall over that year. If we keep using these vital resources instead of water, then we will run out of them. Coal is not only used for electric, it could be used for heating things or even running trains and such. We will never run out of water because of rain and snow. The sun shines on a lake, river, or ocean and the water is evaporated and it forms clouds in the sky. When the cloud becomes full then it releases all the water back to earth so at the same time we lose water we gain water too. It is a never ending process so therefore, water is the best source of energy out here

Throughout time, we have heard how renewable energies are more efficient than coal. They are cleaner, better for the environment, and allegedly more cost efficient. How cost efficient fossil fuels are may depend on which side you look at – the electric company or people and businesses. For an electric company, it is very cost efficient. However, it will take time to see the efficiency to a business. Electric companies have to build or change the plants they currently have in order to meet the needs of the new system, whether it be wind, solar, etc. The “war on coal” came too quickly; as we will detail below, you cannot quit using your main source of heat to generate electricity and expect the country to run as it has before. Changing takes time and money.

As the world we live in today continues to become more focused on “going green” and doing more to protect the environment, clean coal technology is one of the key focal points to look at. In 2003, each person in the United States consumed, on average, 3.7 tons of coal (Ristinen, and Kraushaar 19). This number has obviously increased year by year, and today it looms as a massive number. Coal usage has some well-documented detriments to the environment. Atmospheric problems, sulfur dioxide and acid rain, and global warming issues all can be directly linked to the heavy usage of coal burning. We Americans use massive amounts of coal each year, so naturally finding more clean and

Solar and wind production are not subject to the drastic price swings as you would see with fossil fuels since the source is abundant unlike fossil fuels obtained from foreign sources (“Benefits of Renewable”). While wind cost 0.04-0.06 cents per kWH, solar cost .25 per kWh to produce

Coal energy is a nonrenewable energy, which means that this is a type of energy that we cannot re-create (sunglitz, 2011). Coal energy is used for the formation of power to control mechanical or producing plants and even to control our electronics at home. Many industrial plants or manufacturing plants use coal energy to generate electricity because coal energy is an affordable source of energy (sunglitz, 2011). Advantages of using coal as energy are; it is an affordable source of energy, it burns easily then other energy sources. Some disadvantages of coal are; Coal energy produces large amount of carbon dioxide, which leads to global warming and climate change (sunglitz, 2011). It is nonrenewable, and coal mining is dangerous to the people and the atmosphere. Using coal is

Coal is an inflammable, loose organic rock, comprised of hydrogen, carbon and oxygen. It is formed when vegetation which has consolidated between rock layers transforms into coal seams after undergoing heat and pressure for millions of years. There is more supply of coal than oil or gas, a supply that could last the entire world for about 109 years into the future. Coal provides electricity as well as fuels the production of steel, cement and other industrial activities. Each year, over 6,185 million tons (Mt) of hard coal and 1,042 Mt of brown or lignite coal is produced worldwide. The top five coal producing countries are China, United States (US), Australia, India and South Africa. Eighty-five percent of the coal produced is used in the country of production and only fifteen percent is exported (World Coal Association, 2015).

Last but not least, another indirect cost is the health of humans as coal contains toxic and cancer causing chemicals.

In the discussion concerning available energy carriers this is interesting to notice, since coal reserves can provide enough energy for another estimated 150-200 years. This is a much longer period than is calculated for the proven oil and gas reserves and is a factor that cannot be ignored in global energy discussions.

With approximately 25 million tonnes of steel making coal produced in 2013, Teck Coal Limited is the largest producer of steelmaking (coking) coal in North America and the second largest exporter of steelmaking coal with approximately 95% of the coal produced being exported to various countries in Asia, Europe and South America. China, Japan & Korea form the bulk of the countries who import steelmaking coal from Teck Coal Limited (Teck Resources Limited, 2013). Figure 1 below shows a breakdown of the world coal reserves according to the type of coal and the potential use.

Air pollution creates a variety of different effects on the environment. Many of air pollution’s effects are visible: the loss of ice on ice caps and the premature flowering of plants and trees. Air pollution has a great effect on the weather forecast. As stated earlier, the warmer the Earth’s surface becomes the more water vapor is released into the atmosphere, this causes a variation of extreme weather changes. Climate change affects every region

Coal is used to create almost half of all electricity generated in the United States. Coal is mostly found in three large regions in the United States; the Appalachian Coal Region, the Interior Coal Region, and Western Coal Region. More than one-third of the coal produced in the United States comes from the Appalachian Coal Region. It is impossible to know exactly how much coal there is, because it is buried underground. “Based on U.S. coal consumption for 2008, the U.S. recoverable coal reserves represent enough coal to last 234 years”(So How Much Coal is there?) Coal provides 26% of global primary energy needs and generates 41% of the world's electricity, according to the World Coal Institute (Coal Reserves, Coal Exploration - World Coal Institute).

The production of electricity through the combustion of coal is one of the oldest and cheapest methods to produce electricity. Coal supplies are plentiful and will be available to produce electricity for hundreds of years. While conventional supplies of oil and natural gas are expected to run out in the near future. This has cause a growth in nuclear power. Through out this report one will also learn the disadvantages and advantages to coal burning power plant and how they operate.

Coal energy produces a lot of carbon-dioxide which leads to global warming and climate change.