We use TONS of Coal
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, “Coal is also the workhorse of the nation’s electric power industry, supplying more than half the electricity consumed by Americans.” What the heck? Isn’t coal supposed to be the most polluting and least effective energy resources available? I can’t be the only person here who has played Sim City. In that simulation Coal is the cheapest and most environmental degrading energy technology available. So what’s really going on here? There must be more than meets the eye with these little rocks. Well it seems that coal is one of the most abundant solid-matter energy resources in the United States. We have a great deal more coal than most of our neighbors. Coal is a very interesting subject because there is a LOT of money attached to this substance. I had trouble finding out exactly how much money is generated through coal production in the USA. But I was able to find this little tidbit: In 2008 there were over 1,400 coal mines in the USA. Needless to say, that is a great deal of mines. And these mines produced over 1 million tons of coal in 2008.
Something interesting about coal energy is that there is supposed to be a new plan for an “Emission-Free Coal Plant” in the future. But when I tried clicking on the link to learn more about the supposed plant, I got a ‘Forbidden’ access denied error! What a tease. That plant sounded cool. I searched around and found THIS ARTICLE from USAtoday.com dating back to 2008. But the picture that was in the article was not very impressive. It looked like a glass building near some hills and it didn’t look like a cool futuristic power plant. I found another article on the FutureGen coal plant and it seems like there is progress being made. This is good because if the USA uses so much coal then trying to perfect the technology should be a big priority.
But I am still blown away that we use coal for most of our energy needs. Coal? This stuff is toxic. And I’ve read articles that talk about the scrubbing technology that is used at the plants. What do you think happens to the scrubbers and related technology? In a nutshell, those scrubbers need to be thrown out somewhere. And that usually means pollution. But since they’re working on it, we shouldn’t be too worried about massive pollution.
Some obvious alternatives to coal include nuclear technology and solar technology. Nuclear waste is extremely hazardous and scientists only dispose of it by storing it in huge concrete bunkers. That actually doesn’t take care of the problem. It is just hiding it. Solar Panel technology is interesting because it is renewable but it takes a great deal of energy and chemicals and byproducts to create a functioning solar panel array. So even though solar energy is green, it isn’t quite green how they make them. Fortunately there have been advancements in solar technology making them more powerful and efficient.
Overall coal is a reality in the USA that we need to recognize. If advancements in making coal more efficient and environmentally sustainable don’t succeed, then we are facing some serious ramifications as our population and energy demands increase.
-Tyler
SOURCES:
U.S. Department of Energy – Coal, retrieved September 15th, 2010: http://www.energy.gov/energysources/coal.htm
U.S. Energy Information Administration – Coal Production and Number of Mines by State and Mine Type, retrieved September 15th, 2010: http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/coal/page/acr/table1.html
The Green Grok, by Bill Chameides, Feb 04, 2009 – “Clean Coal’s Dirty Secret – When ‘Clean’ Isn’t Clean”, retrieved September 15th, 2010: http://nicholas.duke.edu/thegreengrok/morecoalwaste
Digital Journal, by Lenny Stoute, Dec 19th, 2007 – “CO2 Emission-Free Coal Burning Plant Announced”, retrieved September 15th, 2010: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/247720
USA Today, by Jim Suhr (Associated Press), Jan 6th, 2008 – “Emissions-free coal plant’s cost worries feds”, retrieved September 15th, 2010: http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2008-01-06-futuregen_N.htm