The Implications of Coal

Coal is an environmentally destructive alternative to oil. Its extraction and processing presents consequences that pollute air quality, destroy habitat, compromise biodiversity and turn aesthetically pleasing landscapes to open pits and chopped off mountain tops.

A relatively new method used by mining companies to remove coal is mountain top removal, because it allows for maximum yields. The process involves clear cutting the mountain, using explosives to blast away the top and finally dumping the waste material into nearby valleys.

In the words of LCV legislative associate Hasan Nazar, “I don’t know why they call it mountain top removal, they should call it mountain top destruction.”

While the extraction process is devastating to the land we live on, the means to process coal is harmful to the air we breathe.

And these implications are only getting closer to home.

Plans by Dominion Power have been set forth to build a coal-fired power plant in Wise County, Virginia.

According to NBC News article, “Against Dominion Coal Plant in Virginia: a Mile of Signatures”, the proposed plant would, “emit up to 5.4 million tons of greenhouse gases each year,” a level that would increase the state’s entire output of carbon dioxide by 15% and put Virginia ahead of California in emissions.

With consequences like these, coal is not something that our environment can afford to use

Coal: The Not So Clean Alternative to Oil

Oil prices have hit $135 a barrel as of today, which has led energy suppliers to look towards coal to lessen the cost. Many glorify the petroleum alternative, happy to save money and to decrease dependence on foreign oil.

Mentioned in a New York Times article this morning, the revival of coal mines in Bibai, Japan has brought “hope” to workers who have not seen production of this magnitude in nearly four decades.

But what is often pushed aside when considering the use of coal as an energy alternative to oil is the adverse environmental impacts of its mining.

The World Coal Institute, a non-profit, non-governmental organization of coal enterprises and associations, says that surface coal mining requires large areas of land to be disturbed, which encourages soil erosion, dust, noise and water pollution, and harmfully effects local biodiversity.

While oil is having negative consequences on foreign affairs, the environment, and our wallets, Coal is no better a solution if we want to minimize our destructive impact on the environment.

More dedication should be paid to the uses of renewable energy alternatives such as, wind, solar, and tidal if we expect to lessen the influences of oil while concurrently working towards a clean and safe environment.