The Pros And Cons Of The War On Coal

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

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

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

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

A controversial topic commonly debated among society is the construction of coal mines. Although they potentially contain great economic promise and access to more resources, they also harm the surrounding environment and increase carbon dioxide emissions.

When I go to my home where I grew up it is all electrical produced and the main producer of that electricity is from coal a fossil fuel. In that area coal is one of the primary exports of that area. (Administration,

Coal cleanup is very hard work and not a lot of people would want to do it. Their clean up plains are very weak right now and they should have someone to improve and successfully make it better every year. A lot of coal companies have filled bankrupt and have been in the courts because they will have to close down and have very expensive cleanup bills.

Clean coal is proposed as being an emission cleaner form of regular coal, because it reduces the amount of sulfur-dioxide, and nitrogen oxide that is produced by burning coal. It does this by removing impurities from the coal that are contributing to the higher emissions within regular coal, which is created through “clean coal technology”. Clean coal is obtained just like regular coal through either mining it or by mountaintop removal. A technique called coal washing is used to remove impurities, such as sulfur and other unwanted minerals, by washing them in a liquid to remove them.

“President Obama is responsible entirely for the closure of that mine and the loses of these jobs”, Robert Murray CEO of Murray Energy Corporation told CNN after 239 men were laid off because an Ohio mine had closed. The current war on coal is not one of just and fair reasons. Coal has several positive benefits that greatly outweigh the negative environmental effects that some say it causes. The main benefit of coal is the hundreds of thousands it employs annually. However, with the strict regulations being put on coal mines these days the tradition of coal mining may be one our children will never know. It is our responsibility as Americans to beat the Obama Administration and win the war on coal.

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.

States has a large amount of coal remaining to be mined and burned, almost three-fourths of the public land in America has been declared off-limits for mining. Mountaintop mining is a relatively new form of surface mining that has steadily gained popularity. The debate as to whether or not this process is an economic necessity or environmental disaster for Kentuckians is the question. Undoubtedly, it is an environmental disaster and it should be removed in every state that they are using it not to mention the health hazards. One report found states, “Although dozens of new coal-burning power plants are planned or under construction, the latest coal boom is meeting resistance from critics who want to shift the U.S. economy toward cleaner fuels. Even if electricity from coal is cheaper than other sources, they argue, the savings are far outweighed by its environmental and health impacts” (Isabella, 2013).

Although the president has continued to support the coal industry, America should start to promote more renewable energy sources because it will help the economy, help keep humans and animals healthy, and help keep the planet healthy. Renewable energy is boosting the economy and it could benefit greatly if we push the use of more renewable energy sources. If America starts using more green types of energy, we will see benefits in the economy because, “The clean energy industry generates hundreds of billions in economic activity, and is expected to continue to grow rapidly in the coming years” (Perry, 2016).  Furthermore, coal is damaging the earth for future generations to come. Coal is permanently harming the earth, because “It also releases substantial amounts of methane, a potent greenhouse gas”, and greenhouse gas is the cause of global warming (“Our Energy Sources”, 2007).  Only using coal energy will permanently damage the earth and its climate. Finally, if we start using less coal and more renewable energy source, we will be doing ourselves a favor because “Toxic water leaks out of abandoned mines to contaminate groundwater, streams, soil, plants, animals and humans” (Good, 2014). Coal affects not only us directly, but also the things we need to survive like food and water, so it is very important that we try to combat this by pushing the use of more renewable energy

Coal mining is a risk people shouldn't take because the people who are mining coal will end up getting lost. Coal mining also has numerous of accidents throughout the years. The reason for coal mining is that people depends on electricity. Also people want to be coal because it is a dangerous job in the United Stated.

Coal, a mineral I have discussed previously, is necessary to our everyday lives. Coal is an incredible source of energy; it heats our houses and buildings, and also fuels stoves. You may often wonder where this extremely useful mineral comes from. Coal does not just appear; it needs to be mined through a process which results in our being able to utilize it. Coal mining is fairly inexpensive, is carried out on a large scale and can be mined in either underground or surface mines.

There is an estimation of 300 years’ worth of economic coal deposits still accessible, ensuring coal fired plants can continue its production for quite a long period to come.