Coal Mining Sally Brady Rosalyn Greene What is coal and how is it - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Coal Mining

Sally Brady Rosalyn Greene

What is coal and how is it formed?

Coal is a kind of rock which is created when an animal dies and becomes trapped between layers of

• soil. Heat and pressure make the

animal matter harden into a rock. Two major types include lignite and anthracite.

(“Coal”)

How is electricity produced from coal?

"Electricity from coal is the electric power made from the energy stored in coal. Carbon, made from ancient plant material, gives coal most of its

• energy. This energy is released when

coal is burned." (American Coal Foundation)

Where is coal mined in the U.S.?

The five largest coal-producing states:

• Wyoming: (40%)
• West Virginia: (11%)
• Kentucky: (8%)
• Pennsylvania: (6%)
• Illinois: (6%)

(U.S. Department of Energy)

Why is coal mining dangerous?

Coal is mined from deep in the

• ground. Coal mining is considered a

dangerous occupation, because miners can get trapped and a spark could cause an explosion. Coal miners often suffer from black lung disease.

(“Coal”)

What environmental problems result from our dependence on coal?

“The pollution from coal power plants, the organization maintains, creates smog that harms the human respiratory system and deposits large quantities of lead, arsenic, and mercury into the environment.” (Sierra Club)

Cause and Effect

Environmental Problems Caused by Coal Mining:

• Methane gas is released into the air.

"Methane gas, when released directly into the atmosphere, is about eighty times as harmful as a similar quantity of carbon dioxide."

• Coal mining disrupts groundwater

reservoirs

• Coal mining pollutes above-ground water

resources such as lakes and rivers.

Compare and Contrast

Some believe that coal mining is a useful source of energy. Too many people rely on coal energy to stop mining coal. Others believe that coal mining is detrimental to the environment and should be stopped. Coal mining is also very dangerous.

Problem- Solution

• Solution:
• Clean coal technologies such

as coal gasification and carbon capture and sequestration.

PROBLEM: Coal causes pollution

• Solution:
• Improve mining equipment
• Increase the number of

safety inspections

• Educate miners on safe

practices

PROBLEM:Coal mining is dangerous

Works Cited

• "Coal." Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection.

Detroit: Gale, 2015. Opposing Viewpoints in Context.

• Web. 27 Sept. 2016.
• Sierra Club. "Coal Should Not Be the Energy of the

Future." Coal. Ed. Roman Espejo. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2011. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "The Dirty Truth About Coal: Why Yesterday's Technology Should Not Be Part of Tomorrow's Energy Future." 2008. Opposing Viewpoints in

• Context. Web. 27 Sept. 2016.
• "Black lung disease." Environmental Encyclopedia.

Gale, 2011. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 29

• Sept. 2016.
• Lydersen, Kari. "Clean Coal Doesn't Exist." Energy
• Alternatives. Ed. David Haugen and Susan Musser.

Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2010. Opposing Viewpoints.

• Rpt. from "Dirtier Side Betrays Promise of 'Clean

Coal,'." New Standard (15 Mar. 2006). Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 29 Sept. 2016.