http://www.economist.com/news/business/21600987-cheap-ubiquitous-and-flexible-fuel-just-one-problem-fuel-future
Coal may be dirty and have numerous environmental costs such as increased emissions of Carbon Dioxide and sulfur dioxide. Coal mines are also known to be very dangerous places to work. Despite the numerous problems associated with coal, it is still a crucial source of energy and economic output in many nations and may prove to be beneficial for developing countries that less focused on the environment. The coal industry is one that is truly consumer friendly because its prices are not determined by cartels.
America's Shale-gas boom has had an effect on coal production in the U.S. Duke Energy and AEP have both shut down coal-fired plants. Still, The Federal Energy Information Administration predicts that the U.S. will still be generation 22% of its electricity from coal in 2040, which is only a 4% decrease from current output. Another effect on the coal industry from America's Shale-gas boom is that coal prices have significantly decreased, and much more coal is now being exported. Coal companies are becoming increasingly concerned that their decreasing revenue will soon not be able to cover the high cost of capital and production in the coal industry.
6 comments:
I think an increase in electricity being produced by coal firing plants and the decrease in the price of coal will bring about concerns of even more carbon being put into the air. The vertical zone of influence that carbon has will build even if America is not the one burning coal.
I agree with Bradford completely. These effects will become irreversible. Without a global event that will cause extreme panic, the use of coal and carbon being released in the air will not be reduced enough to make an extreme difference in pollution. Without extreme negative effects affecting the average global citizen in present day, no extreme measures to end carbon pollution will be put in place.
The environmental consequence of coal burning to produce energy is ridiculously bad. I think its cost such as health problems from air pollution outweighs the benefits/efficiency of coal. There are many environmentally friendly source of energy like wind, solar or nuclear (sometimes, it can cause disaster, but still it is environmentally friendly).
The costs of burning coal to produce energy are fairly obvious and clearly detrimental. But I feel and trust that technological advances will push to fill this gap. The pressure to find alternatives is already present and the costs of further exploitation is known. The world is merely waiting on a brilliant break in research. It takes time though. This article really exaggerates our amount of reliance on coal. Its more of a fluctuating market than a complete reliance. There's really no need to be alarmed, the whole world of researchers is already on it! But the future may be filled with peril if that research never pays off. It would look like incredible amounts of money to use the coal we need to survive. The people that can pay the most will be able to afford it and therefore be able to continue to use their energy.
I think that the best way to prevent coal from becoming a power source that our country comes to depend on would be to prevent the subsidization of the industry. The industry is not developed enough, nor are profits from selling the energy high enough(because burning coal provides cheap energy), so it would need to be heavily subsidized in order to be profitable. By pushing the government to abstain from funding the mining, extraction, and cleaning processes, there is a possibility that the industry would not be profitable enough to function and hopefully attention would turn to seeking a renewable, cleaner power source.
Hopefully research and technological advances will pay off and the future will have far less coal in it. We need to find new sources of energy to replace the proportion of energy that is coal. A cheaper, more abundant, reliable and more easily attainable replacement will do this. Coal is not a problem now but who knows what the future holds
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