Coal deposits are found in over 2/3 of the states in the United State. Coal play

Question

Coal deposits are found in over 2/3 of the states in the United State. Coal plays a very important role in our economy, especially in states lie Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio. Coal is a plentiful, inexpensive, and reliable source of energy. However, coal mining has a large impact on our environment. The tailings piles and byproducts of coal mining pollute our air and water supply. Over the past several years, many companies have attempted to introduce a new, cleaner version of coal. Review the following websites: Greenpeace site against clean coal: http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/american-coalition-for-clean-coal-electricit-greenwashing-dirty-coal/ Fact check site: http://www.factcheck.org/2009/01/clean-coal-confrontation/ In short, explain whether or not you believe that this “clean coal” is actually a solution to the pollution problem. What other plentiful, inexpensive, and reliable resources should we rely on, if we do not use coal?

Explanation / Answer

"Clean coal" usually means capturing carbon emissions from burning coal and storing them under the earth.

I don’t believe that it is a solution for pollution problem. It has many advantages but there are many cons also.

1. Still a threat to health.
Even if clean coal has a good potential for future technologies, it’s still the same coal that has carbon dioxide and other types of pollutants. Transporting coal mining waste also requires high cost. Even coal ash can be considered a hazardous waste.

2. It is just an ad campaign.
Allegedly, the thought of producing clean coal is just a notion made by the coal industry and its proponents. According to critics, promoting coal as clean is a little bit just like an advertising slogan.

3. Creating clean coal is too expensive.
Making coal a clean type of fuel can cost a lot of money. In fact, critics state that so far only research has been made regarding the gasification of coal to remove carbon dioxide and related pollutants. Moreover, only a small number of plants were built but was just used to contain Sulphur and other contaminants.

The other plentiful, inexpensive, and reliable resources on which we can rely are:

Biomass Energy- Biomass energy has been around since long before anyone spoke of renewables or alternative energy sources. There was a time when wood was the primary fuel for heating and cooking around the world.

Solar Thermal- The term solar thermal has been used to describe two different types of systems. One is where solar panels are used to collect heat, which is used directly as domestic or process hot water, space heating, or in some cases, air conditioning. This most basic form of solar energy utilization, called solar heating and cooling (SHC).

Fuel cell Energy- It is as a battery in which fuel is added to, in order to keep it going. The fuel, which is always combined with oxygen (or air) to produce electricity, can be as simple as hydrogen. This is the cleanest energy source we know of, since the only byproduct is distilled water.

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