The Pros And Cons Of Coal

Coal is the dirtiest of all fossil fuels. When burned, it produces emissions that contribute to global warming, create acid rain and pollute water. With all of the talk surrounding nuclear energy, hydropower and biofuels, you might be forgiven for thinking that grimy coal is finally on its way out. On the other hand, coal is no sooty remnant of the Industrial Revolution - it generates half of the electricity in the United States and will likely continue to do so as long as it's cheap and plentiful . Clean coal technology seeks to reduce harsh environmental effects by using multiple technologies to clean. Coal is a fossil fuel composed primarily of carbons and hydrocarbons. Its ingredients help make plastics, tar and fertilizers. A coal derivative, a solidified carbon called coke, melts iron ore and reduces it to create steel. But most coal - 92 percent of the U.S. supply - goes into power production .Electric companies and businesses with power plants burn coal to make the steam that turns turbines and generates electricity. When coal burns, it releases carbon dioxide and other emissions in flue gas, the billowing clouds you see pouring out of smoke stacks. Some clean coal technologies purify the coal before it burns. One type of coal preparation, coal washing, removes unwanted minerals by mixing crushed coal with a liquid and allowing the impurities to separate and settle. Other systems control the coal burn to minimize emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and

We should invest in cleaner alternatives that will not only be better for us but the environment. Although coal is used for electricity, there are other ways to produce electricity like water power, wind generators, and solar energy. Water power, or hydropower is power that is derived from the weight of the water. Hydroelectric power plants use dams or rivers to store water to then release the water through turbines that spin it that produces electricity. Wind generators are like water power but instead of water its wind. Wind turbines converts the wind’s energy into electric energy. Solar energy is similar but the energy comes from the sun. Some people use solar energy for their homes so they save money and will not have to pay an electric bill. Instead of burning coal, there are other alternatives as stated

We want instant gratification and coal fits the bill. I noted in my book review of Crude World that Peter Maass didn’t present a balanced picture of the oil industry; it was all bad. He was intended to highlight the negative aspect of our oil dependency. Big Coal is the same in that respect. It is hard to argue that coal hasn’t improved the lives of a great many people around the world, and we know a number of people who would argue that these improvements outweigh the negatives. Further, it is fair to say that the coal industry has come a long way in cleaning up their emission profile over the past few

Coal is the most abundant and important source of primary energy in the world. There are reserves spread throughout some one hundred countries to meet global needs up to the next two hundred and fifty years. It is the most important fossil fuel for electricity generation and industrial purposes. But, it has pollution issues to the environment like Air pollution, land degradation, noise pollution, etc. But the pollution I am going to be talking about is water pollution from the coal mines in the Alabama rivers.

Many places are known for many things, and West Virginia is known for its coal. As much as a television remote needs batteries, West Virginia needed coal in its early statehood. Coal has recently been the subject of chaos in many circles around the state. Many believe we should bleed, breathe, and breed coal. While others realize that coal is dangerous and is on its way out the door. As everything else in the world coal has its Pro's and Con's. For example, coal is a cheaper alternative to creating heat which maintains electricity. Though you may pollute the air with a high concentrate of sulfur in which coal releases. As for me, I believe coal is on its deathbed and rightfully so. Coal has taken far too many lives, such, as young men, grandfathers,

Coal is a type of energy source that we use a lot of to make heat and energy. It is made up of mostly carbon and also includes other elements like hydrogen, oxygen, sulphur and nitrogen. It is a non-renewable source because it takes millions of years to form. Coal is the world’s largest source of energy for the production of electricity and the use of it is increasing every year. E.g. in 2006 the world consumed over 6,000,000,000,000 Kg of coal.

Many of these are released into the atmosphere as hazardous air pollutants…and many of them are harmful to health” (Lockwood 17). The EPA has done many studies to determine the elements that are released from the burning of coal and the amount of each is measured. While the amounts may be minute, over time with exposure they can damage to human organs. For this reason many activists desire to eliminate or slow down the use of coal for generating electricity. While it is true that the elements and compounds are harmful to humans, the amount of some of these elements is not truly harmful. The benefits of having cheap energy far out way the negatives from the pollution. The average life expectancy is on the rise around the planet and cheap energy has improved the lives of many in poor countries. The U.S. government and the EPA have created many laws to protect citizens and to force coal burning facilities to reduce emissions. Renewable sources for energy are good, but the sun does not always shine, nor the wind blow, and at those times, coal is

The coal industry is a market that over the years has decreased in size. “Cheaper natural gas and tougher environmental regulations” as told by The New York Times, has depleted the need for coal companies and made it extremely hard for them accomplish the necessary tasks needed to get coal. The problem with coal is the amount of damage it does to the environment. Coal is a very dirty job that does a lot of damage to the environment and costs millions to cleanup. Recently, many coal companies have gone bankrupt from from having to meet regulations and clean up their mines. A recent uproar has come about over Alpha Natural Resources. “Once a high-flying coal company that borrowed millions” now is in extreme debt and is closing down many of its

Coal is a nonrenewable energy source, meaning that there is a limited supply of it and therefore if too much is expended the source will eventually run out. There are three primary advantages associated with the production and use of coal energy, abundance, affordability, and capital maintenance. Coal is a relatively inexpensive fossil fuel; this may be because of the great abundance of it with it being a fairly predictable and a reliable source. This abundance leads to low and stable prices, with a relative simplistic conversion of coal to energy, resulting in power generation plants being built using less governmental faculties compared to many other competing energy sources. Such advantages make coal a popular energy source globally, especially

Coal power plants are the most used source of power in the world, places like South Africa; Coal power consists of 93% of the industry. Coal power plants create a huge impact on the power industry and powers 41% of global electricity. (World Coal Association, 2015)

Coal mining has generated, over the last century a series of negative impacts on our environment such as coal mining accidents, land sinkage, damage to the water environment mining waste disposal and air pollution. Although much of the damage is done to the environment it also affects us humans too in such a way. However nothing has been done to help this complication to stop this catastrophic activity to stop our planet from diminishing away.

From powering manufacturing plants to contributing tens of thousands of dollars to the economy, coal plays an important part in our society. To this day, coal accounts for 40% of all electric

Many researchers find that the best way to get energy for daily use is by converting the “coal into electricity” (Cohen and Winkler 1). There is a lot of energy that stored in the coal, so people are capable to get electricity from it. Furthermore, coal generated electricity is really helpful for farming, industry, heating, transportation, etc. The cost of the coal fired electricity is pretty low because the environmental costs are not included in the price. When we are combusting the fossil fuel, the greenhouse gas emission “associated with the production of electricity using gas” will be releasing less than those “associated with electricity produced from coal” (Cohen and Winkler 1). According to the researchers, carbon dioxide is the “major greenhouse gas in terms of overall contribution” despite its lower “global warming potentially relative to methane” which will give

The effect of coal burning, so what is coal? There are two kinds of coal such as char, and mineral coal. Char coal is obtained from burning wood where as mineral Coal is from fossil fuel that is formed by remains of plants that live and died over some 400 million years ago when the earth was covered with swampy forest. Coal is mostly used as a fossil fuel to produce electricity and heat. Since the early 1300s and Native Americans have been using coal for hearing and cooking. Nevertheless, it was not active to its fullest extent until the start of the Industrial Revolution when electricity became necessary. Coal is the cheapest source of energy cheaper than natural gas, oil, and nuclear. However, the burning of coal causes air pollution, health effect, and global warming. Although coal is useful burning it is bad for the environment.

Coal is a cheap, plentiful and dirty source of fuel. The leading cause of global warming comes from burning coal. It is a sedimentary organic rock that contains over 40% carbon and is formed by ancient plants and animals. As plants die off, they pile up into peat, found it marshy damp regions, and used for fuel. Peat takes 4,000 to 100,000 years for 1 meter of peat to accumulate (Boucher). The older the coal gets, the harder and blacker it gets. Burning coal poses a serious threat to the environment and to our health, by producing smog, acid rain, toxic mercury and particulate matter.