CHAPTER 23 CHAPTER 23 COAL BRINGING DOWN THE MOUNTAIN In the rubble, the true cost of coal.

CHAPTER 23 COAL

BRINGING DOWN THE MOUNTAIN

In the rubble, the true cost of coal


In the rubble, the true cost of coal23Main ConceptCoal plays a major role as an energy source around the world.

Despite efforts to reduce the health and environmental risks associated with burning coal, the impact of mining operations will continue as long as we use coal.

Spruce No. 1 mine West Virginia


In the rubble, the true cost of coal23Learning OutcomesAt the end of this unit you should know:The importance of coal as a global energy source

Methods associated with extracting coal and using it to generate electricity

The role of technology in reducing negative impacts

Spruce No. 1 mine West Virginia

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TERMS TO KNOW:CoalMountaintop removalEnergyFossil fuelsElectricity



Case Study: Coal mining in Appalachia

Background: Surface mining for coal involves blasting off several hundred

feet of mountaintop and dumping the rubble nearby before extracting the

coal below.

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TERMS TO KNOW:CoalMountaintop removalEnergyFossil fuelsElectricity



Mining operations have claimed nearly a million acres of forested mountain, across

four states—Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, and Tennessee.

There is still more to come as the coal industry moves ahead supplying our primary energy source for electricity

production.

23 Coal is an important fossil fuel energy source

Energy – Capacity to do work

Fossil fuels – Non-renewable carbon-based resources

Heat and cool homesOperate cell phones

Power lamps and laptopsFuel our cars

Power our industry

The United States uses about 1 billion tons of coal per year.

1,000,000,000 x 2000

40% of electricity worldwide and 45% in the United States

comes from coal.

1 pound of coal = electricity for ten 100-watt bulbs for an hour or an energy-efficient refigerator for 20 hours

A U.S. family of four uses about 9000 lbs per year.

Energy Return on Energy Investment (EROEI): Coal 8:1, oil 15:1, nuclear 6:1, and wind 20:1


1 pound of coal = electricity for ten 100-watt bulbs for an hour

The most common way to generate electricity is by heating water to

produce steam.



produce steam.

1 pound of coal = electricity for ten 100-watt bulbs for an hour



produce steam.

1 pound of coal = electricity for ten 100-wat


Coal is the main fossil fuel source used to produce electricity, but its role is slowly being reduced as use of renewable fuels increases.

Coal has shaped waves of progress from the United Kingdom to the

United States and now into China.Economies have increased, but so

have health impacts through the use of coal. Black lung, birth defects, etc.

23 Coal forms over millions of years

TERMS TO KNOW:Energy return on energy investment (EROEI)

Formation of the Appalachian Mountains was the last and

greatest of the events that joined all of the world’s land into one

super-continent a few million years before the dinosaurs.


TERMS TO KNOW:Energy return on energy investment (EROEI)

Coal is formed over long periods of time as plant matter is buried in an oxygen-poor environment and subjected to high heat and

pressure. Today, these areas are called coal reserves.


TERMS TO KNOW:Energy return on energy investment (EROEI)Overburden

One ton of extracted coal leaves seven tons of overburden.


Tectonic upheaval, deep and rapid burying of organic material, and slow compaction into coal has been repeated around the globe.

Europe holds about 36% of the world’s reserves, another 30% in Asia, and a little more than 28% in North America.

Coal recovery in the Appalachian beds was easy 150 years ago, but now, extraction methods have become more destructive, as minable coal becomes harder to reach.

Hobet 21 has claimed at least 12,000 acres of land. Clear-cutting, drilling,

and blasting have left some 80 million tons of overburden each year.

23 Mining comes with a set of serious trade-offs

TERMS TO KNOW:Surface miningSubsurface minesAcid mine drainage

Mountaintop removalAfter clear-cutting forests,

drilling into the sides of the mountains, and blasting what

remained….

The process was repeated until the neighboring valleys were

filled with overburden and the forest habitat was obliterated

and streams were buried.


TERMS TO KNOW:Surface miningSubsurface minesAcid mine drainage

Surface miningAfter clear-cutting forests,

drilling into the sides of the mountains, and blasting what

remained….

The process was repeated until the neighboring valleys were

filled with overburden and the forest habitat was obliterated

and streams were buried.


Surface mining - In strip mining, overburden is set aside and used to refill the pit left by mining the coal before moving on to the next strip.Subsurface mining – Methane is released, acidifying water, toxins leach from surrounding rocks, sulfates produce acid drainage; it affects everything from nutrient cycles to the entirety of the local food web. Up side: less alteration to large surface areas and more jobs.


COAL DUST – Black lung disease from breathing coal dust. In 2004, there were 703 coal miner deaths from pneumoconiosis compared to 26 from accidental death.

EXPLOSIONS AND MINE COLLAPSE – Methane gas and coal dust are major causes of explosions. 362 miners died in the worst mining explosion in U.S. history (1907) and 29 in a single accident in 2010.

FIRE – Some have been burning for hundreds of years! A mine fire in Pennsylvania has been burning since 1962 and caused the town to be abandoned.

TOXIC FUMES – In 2006, twelve miners died from carbon dioxide poisoning while trapped in West Virginia.

23 Surface mining brings severe environmental impacts

TERMS TO KNOW:Environmental impact statement

Maria Gunnoe – Goldman Environmental

Prize winner


Over time, mining has led to “No Trespassing” signs, blasting, millions of tons of overburden, loss of forests, soil compaction, and more frequent and severe flooding.

The ground can’t absorb water and surrounding valleys are filled with overburden.

Flooding in 2003 nearly swallowed up the town of Bob White including houses, barns, and families.

Toxins fill the air and children in the area have a higher incidence of birth defects including heart, lung, and

central nervous system disorders associated with the fumes from blasting. Mining is linked to bioaccumulation

and biomagnification of toxins worldwide.


Loss of biodiversity in aquatic systems affects forest life and impacts the very base of the food web.

Increases in nitrogen and phosphorus availability:- Altered aquatic systems - Eutrophication - Increases in sulfate-feeding bacteria - Production of toxic hydrogen sulfide

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) –Positive and negative impacts of any action potentially causing environmental damage.

Dangers to the environment are similar to those experienced around the world. Mining operations beyond coal include

gold, copper, iron ore, and other geological resources.


Mining impacts

Clean-up potential?

Toxic ash, sulfates , mercury, arsenic, lung disease, nitrogen

oxides, CO2, kidney disease,loss of habitat,

toxic selenium, compacted soil,increased flooding,

thermal pollution


Mining impacts

23 Can coal’s emissions be cleaned up?

Clean-up potential?


TERMS TO KNOW:Carbon capture and sequestration (CCS)

Coal-burning pollutes the environment by releasing a wide range of toxins—sulfur, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, carbon dioxide, radioactive materials, and particulate matter.

At the end of 2011, the EPA imposed Mercury and Air Toxic standards that will reduce emissions by 90% and predicted to save $90 billion in human health over the first 5 years.



Coal-fired plants generate tons of toxic fly ash—most is buried in landfills or stored in open ponds.

2008 – TVA Kingston Fossil Plant in Tennessee – Holding pond failed and released 1.1 billion gallons of fly ash into nearby rivers.

Clean-up estimates are $1.2 billion.

$1,200,000,000before the costs of property damage and lawsuits are added in.



Externalized (health, environmental, and property) costs for mining and using coal are between $300-500 billion per year—more than twice what consumers actually pay.Potential solutionClean Coal Technology Reduce the amount of pollution produced by coal by capturing particulate matter, sulfur, and CO2.Still doesn’t eliminate all toxic by-products or stop mining.

Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS)

CO2 is released when coal burns and is trapped by a solvent before it leaves the smokestack.





A stripper separates CO2 from the solvent and repurposes it for industry.




A stripper separates CO2 from the solvent and repurposes it for industry.

Additional CO2 is injected deep underground into available wells, seams, and salt formations for long-term storage.

23 Reclaiming closed mining sites helps repair the area but does not restore the original ecosystem

TERMS TO KNOW:Reclamation

The controversial process of reclamation requires that the mined area be returned to a state close to pre-

mining conditions.

After reclamation

Before mining operation


Reclamation often involves use of alkaline materials to neutralize acids in the soil, priority for easily planted vegetation like grass rather than native species, and non-native loblolly pine to replace missing temperate forests.

After reclamation

Before mining operation


A valley in West Virginia after mining shows none of the original forest, ridges, or streams that were once found there.

23 PERSONAL CHOICES THAT HELP

Appalachian Regional Reforestation Initiative - arri.osmre.govUpcoming events - beyondcoal.org

23 UNDERSTANDING THE ISSUE

23 ANALYZING THE SCIENCE

23 EVALUATING NEW INFORMATION

Photo essay and another case study about mountaintop removal

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23 MAKING CONNECTIONS

CHAPTER 23 CHAPTER 23 COAL BRINGING DOWN THE MOUNTAIN In the rubble, the true cost of coal.

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Transcript of CHAPTER 23 CHAPTER 23 COAL BRINGING DOWN THE MOUNTAIN In the rubble, the true cost of coal.