What's Next For Us Energy Essay

A documentary called "From the Ashes" speaks about the employees, and communities that are supported by coal mines. In the documentary the director of Sierra Club's Beyond Coal campaign, Mary Anne Hitt, goes on to describe a "life and death struggle" when mine layoffs occur. This means that the employees will lose their pensions, healthcare, and basically their livelihood. It was believed that the increase of miner layoffs was due to environmental regulations, but that was proven incorrect by the US Energy and Information Administration. One of the leading causes is the increased use of natural gases, and a statistical analysis over a 6 year time period proves that when natural gas usage increases, then coal usage

Many companies have made money from the coal industry; however, the money has not stayed within the state. Big businesses have exploited the resources creating rich executives and leaving the Appalachian area stripped of its bounty. Currently, big businesses are involved in mountain-top removal to remove resources from our mountains. This leaves many of the beautiful mountains destroyed, pollutes the water systems and kills the wildlife and vegetation. The coal industry which once supported many families in the Appalachian area is now becoming the downfall of our tourist

This paper will review past practices and policies relating to mountaintop coal mining, evaluate and analyze current research on the impact of coal mining on human health, and provide recommendations for further research guided by logic and in agreement with biblical truth.

To begin with, large corporations own a lot of the coalfields in Appalachia and majority of these corporations are predominately-based outside of the regions that they mine in and so a lot of the money that they make does not stay in the state or the communities in which the main production takes place. In West Virginia where most of coal production takes place, there is no economic diversification and the only thing that is left is employment in the mining factories, which is becoming less and less. This has caused a lot of people to migrate from the region to other places in search of jobs and a livelihood. Large corporations started gaining interested in the region very early before the locals

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

With our modern technology, yes, we can burn our coal within the limits of the Clean Air Act” (Reagan,1980) and Reagans lack of policy regarding the environment while pushing for increased coal production seem to mirror his skepticism regarding the environmental issues of the time. The partisan nature of environmental policy spending can be shown most clearly when Reagan’s nonchalant approach to the environmental policy when they are compared to the new technologies that were put in to place during the presidency of Jimmy Carter. In an address to a joint session of congress in 1977, Carter outlined a national energy plan which included “We must start now to develop the new, unconventional sources of energy we will rely on in the next century” (Carter, 1977) and this included “In the long term, to develop renewable and essentially inexhaustible sources of energy for sustained economic growth” (Carter, 1977). This brings a different perspective to the policy changes that are now occurring in the government in a change from President Obama to President Trump. Just as Reagan followed Carter and the shift on environmental policy was moved from developing new technologies to returning to coal burning as a primary source of energy, the change from Obama’s policies to Trump’s may not be totally

To start, coal mining has created thousands of jobs. According to West Virginia Coal Facts, “West Virginia coal employment had 26, 619 employees” (Source C) as of 2013. Coal mining has created jobs for the citizens of West Virginia. People come to

Sadly, many men have lost their jobs and become miners. Mining is a job with a steady income; however, it brings home lung diseases and medical bills. Mining used to be this great thing everybody wanted as a job down in Appalachia. Mining effects are much greater than any other job. “Estimates suggest such accidents kill about 12,000 people a year” (“The Dangers of Mining”). In Inez, Kentucky, with a population of only 750, 6% is jobless. More jobs in the mines are becoming more of a hassle, due to the government worrying about working conditions. Siliceous, Coal Workers’ Pneumoconiosis (CWP), Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) are all side effects of coal mining and big concerns to higher officials. ("Mining Impacts"). The median household in Appalachia central is 51% lower than national average, and it is lowering by the months. The environment surrounding these counties is either polluted with smoke from the mines or has litter everywhere. Polluted areas causes species to not come back, or to even die off. In a food chain, if one thing disappears, it messes with the whole system. Working in factories and not needing a college education works out great for half the

if the coal mines start laying people off. When coal has a boom or bust, so does the communities as well (Roenker, 2002). This dependency on coal production has left many communities and parts of the region without a diverse economy, and the economy that is in these towns were depend on coal production and jobs. The more depend on coal a community, county, or region is, the more dependent on social services and government assistance (Roenker, 2002). One of the barriers in the region of Appalachia is the coal dependency. While it does bring great jobs and good economy, the busts are almost too hard for many in Appalachia to handle. Opening up to more job diversities are that more stable would be very beneficial in West

Coal mining, in particular, strip mining has become the latest casualty of the growing green movement in the United States. What is strip mining? Encyclopædia Britannica Online defines strip mining as the removal of vegetation, soil, and rock above a layer of coal, followed by the removal of the coal itself (“strip”). Most Americans don’t realize the impact this material of biological origin that can be used as a source of energy (“fossil”), or fossil fuel, has on their everyday lives or the nation’s economy. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the mining industry directly employs some fifty thousand Americans with nearly half that number working in the more specific field of strip mining, or mountain top removal

Mining enough coal to supply the world, would really take a toll on Alaska’s climate because of its vast environmental impact. In the article, “There Is No Such Thing as Clean Coal” the National Resource Defense Council (NRDC) states that the main sources of pollution due to the production of coal is “methane emissions” and “particular matter emissions” (2). Not only is the burning of coal harmful to the environment, the coal transportation after it is mined also poses a huge threat. The NRDC clarifies that “diesel burning trucks, trains, and barges that transport coal spew dangerous chemicals into the earth’s atmosphere” (2). Not only is it harmful to the atmosphere, but also to the land and water if it happens to be spilled. The EPA states, “truck records indicate that truck accidents near streams are likely over the long period of mining operations” (19). The addition of these toxic emissions to the earth will greatly influence the issue of global warming on our planet and could potentially become irreparable which would make life much harder for future generations.

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

I agree. Over the next four years we will have to take environmental protection into our own hands, especially mitigating climate change. There have already been reports that the climate change webpage on Whitehouse.gov has been taken down and replaced with the Trump Administration’s “America First” energy plan.

Coal power is the cheapest fuel to power the ever growing population with Australian mining industry still putting in billions of dollars into a vast amount of coal projects never the less coal power is a fossil fuel, a fuel which takes hundreds of year to form so the future of coal is undetermined. Coal is a reliable power source but one of the many concern with coal is the mining process used to remove it from the ground. Ecological effects are developing worries for the industry, with the carbon emissions possibly contributing to global warming.

If Americans didn't have energy then we wouldn't have cars we wouldn't have stores we wouldn't have really anything. The reason is because most things that we have or use now days use energy or something like that.Then no businesses would be making money and no one would have anything so that's one reason why we Americans need energy.