|
 Besides
the difficulty in mining, coal produces pollutants that have potentially
negative impacts on humans and on the environment. Burning coal in power plants generate
Mercury, SO2, and CO2 emissions. Mercury is toxic to humans and
animals, SO2 leads to acid rain and CO2 is one of the greenhouse gases
that trap heat in our atmosphere leading to rising World temperatures to
several devastating effects.
Alternative energy sources are required to
address the above shortcomings of coal. Some of these alternatives are
solar, wind etc. (follow links to these energy sources on the left pane of
this page). Besides these energy sources, other proposals include the
use of Clean Coal Technologies to clean up
operations of coal-fired plants.
|
|
Despite all the shortcomings of coal as an
energy source, the use of this resource will continue to be with us for a
long time to come for few reasons:
-
Over centuries, tremendous investments have
been made to acquire the equipment and manpower for processing energy
through coal. Many companies and organizations that have made these
investments will find migrating to alternative/renewable sources very
challenging;
-
Coal is still considered the cheapest form of
energy.
ABC news
mentioned in one of the videos above that the cost of energy through
coal is 3 cents /KWh as compared to 20 cents / KWh and 14 cents /KWh for
Solar and Wind respectively.
-
There is still a large reserve of coal
in the ground.
To continue to use energy from coal we may
have to clean up the coal energy production process as discussed in
clean coal technology section: Reduce chemicals
(Mercury and others) and SO2 in the emissions leaving a coal plant, collect
and store away underground the CO2 leaving the power plants.
Adopting a mix of all energy production
strategies appears to be the way to go. We should explore Cleaner Coal
Energy Plants, safely managed Nuclear Power Plants and the green/renewable
energy sources (Solar. Wind, Geothermal, hydroelectric etc) and meet the
World's energy through these various forms. Diversification into all
energy sources and drastically reduced reliance on coal and other fossil
fuels will enhance the sustainability of fossil fuel resources. a one-time
migration from fossil fuels to green energy sources may not be visible.
However, a consistent gradual migration will work. The price of energy
production from renewable sources, which is quite higher than cost of using
coal, will drop as we continue to develop the green energy technologies.
|
nimals
of prehistoric times having undergone tremendous decomposition and
compaction. It is a sedimentary rock formation which is black or brownish
black in color. It is a highly combustible rock and it has been used for
centuries to provide heat in power generating. Coal is probably use to
power close to 60-70% of the historical and current World Power plants.
Coal is buried far deep in the ground and requires a lot of effort to mine
it from the ground. It is also very dangerous to mine because it is always
underground and requires horizontal or vertical drilling or digging of
holes through the ground to reach where coal is. Many miners have been
said to have contacted various disorders for exposure to dusts form coal
mines.