Why we should keep using coal?

Why we should keep using coal?

Cheapest source of energy. It is by far cheaper than nuclear, natural gas, oil. Coal also provides a stable source of energy (no Arab oil embargoes, no sudden scarcity like you experience with natural gas) and there is a very plentiful supply both in the U.S. and in other foreign countries.

What are 3 advantages of coal?

Here Are the Advantages of Coal

• It is available in an abundant supply.
• It has a high load factor.
• Coal offers a rather low capital investment.
• Carbon capture and storage technologies can reduce potential emissions.
• It can be converted into different formats.
• Coal can be used with renewables to reduce emissions.

How important is coal in our everyday lives?

Coal accounts for over 37% of the world’s electricity supply. It is fundamental in powering homes and industry, providing energy for transport and producing steel and concrete. Coal is an essential resource for tackling the challenges facing the modern world – specifically the rapid increase in energy consumption.

What are pros and cons for coal?

The Pros of Coal Energy

• The availability of coal makes it very affordable.
• The energy infrastructure supports coal.
• The cost of coal is quite cheap.
• There is no lag time with coal energy.
• Clean coal technologies help to limit the emissions that are released.
• It can be converted into different forms of fuel.

How does coal help the economy?

Coal is America’s most abundant energy resource—making up 90 percent of U.S. fossil energy reserves on a Btu basis. Coal is essential to the U.S. economy, providing affordable electricity to households, businesses, manufacturing facilities, transportation and communications systems, and services throughout our economy.

Why is coal important to SA?

Coal is South Africa’s dominant energy source. 77% of South Africa’s energy needs are provided by coal, according to the Department of Energy6. Eskom produces 95% of electricity used in South Africa7, and its coal-fired stations produce about 90% of electricity produced by the utility8.

How does coal impact the environment?

Climate change is coal’s most serious, long-term, global impact. Chemically, coal is mostly carbon, which, when burned, reacts with oxygen in the air to produce carbon dioxide, a heat-trapping gas. Consequences of global warming include drought, sea level rise, flooding, extreme weather, and species loss.

What are cons of using coal?

Cons

• Coal is nonrenewable.
• Coal contains the most CO2 per BTU, the largest contributor to global warming.
• Severe environmental, social and health and safety impacts of coal mining.
• Devastation of environment around coal mines.
• High cost of transporting coal to centralized power plants.

How does coal impact society?

Several principal emissions result from coal combustion: Sulfur dioxide (SO2), which contributes to acid rain and respiratory illnesses. Nitrogen oxides (NOx), which contribute to smog and respiratory illnesses. Particulates, which contribute to smog, haze, and respiratory illnesses and lung disease.

Why is coal so important for life in South Africa?

What is the impact of coal on the environment?

Environmental impacts associated with using coal as an energy source are particulate emission, ground level ozone, smog and acid rain. Coal and fuel oil combustion emit fly ash particles into the atmosphere, which contribute to air pollution problems.

Is coal environmentally friendly?

Compared to other energy resources, coal reserves appear to be the most abundant. However, due to their high emissions of toxic substances, and sulphur in particular, they contribute substantially towards environmental pollution.

Why is coal such a bad energy source?

Coal: a destructive energy source NASA scientist Jim Hansen has described coal as ” the single greatest threat to the climate “. Coal contains more carbon than other fossil fuels such as oil and gas, resulting in the release of greater quantities of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere when it is burned.

What are the bad things about coal?

Coal has been mined and used as fuel in this country for many generations. A big thing that is bad about coal is how it is mined. Not only does it strip the earth of this natural resource and destroy whole mountains, but many coal miners die every year. Coal mining is dangerous work.

Why does coal have a more energy than wood?

Coal is a little over twice as dense as wood so a given volume (you have mentioned volumetric densities) so there is more ‘matter’ in a given volume of coal than wood. So you would automatically expect the coal to produce more energy since the chemical reaction producing the heat is dependent on the mass not the volume.

Why is coal considered a dirty form of energy?

Coal is generally regarded as one of the most dangerous and harmful energy sources (across several different measures like mortality rates, contributable health problems, and so on) Air contaminants/pollutants can be emitted by the burning of coal and can contribute to air pollution