What are the ethical and environmental issues of coal?
What are the ethical and environmental issues of coal?
Two main environmental concerns associated with the use of coal are: Pollution, caused by emissions of contaminants such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and mercury, which affects human and environmental health. Greenhouse gases, emissions of which contribute to global warming.
Is thermal coal bad for the environment?
Thermal coal, also known as ‘steaming coal’ or just ‘coal’, is widely used as the principle means of generating electricity in much of the world. However, its high carbon and sulfur content means it is also a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and global warming.
What are the arguments 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.
What is stranded asset risk?
Stranded assets are defined as assets that have suffered from unanticipated or premature write-downs, devaluation or conversion to liabilities.
What are the ethical impacts of coal?
As far as waste management goes, coal creates a lot of solid waste product such as fly ash, bottom ash, and flue-gas desulfurization sludge. This waste contains mercury, uranium, thorium, arsenic, and other metals that are all harmful for the environment. Coal also pollutes the water.
What are the environmental impacts of coal mining?
Coal mining harms land, surface waters, groundwater and even our air. 4 Impacts to the land from mining cause drastic changes in the local area. Damage to plants, animals and humans occurs from the destruction and removal of habitat and environ- mental contamination.
Why is thermal coal bad?
From cheap energy source to planetary threat As if these environmental impacts were not bad enough, air pollution from thermal coal poses serious risks to human health, contributing to diseases such as emphysema, chronic bronchitis, pulmonary inflammation, cancer, and heart attacks.
What is thermal coal used for?
Thermal coal or steaming coal is burned for steam to run turbines to generate electricity either to public electricity grids or directly by industry consuming electrical power (such as chemical industries, paper manufacturers, cement industry and brickworks).
What is coal pros and cons?
Top 10 Coal Pros & Cons – Summary List
| Pros of Coal | Cons of Coal |
|---|---|
| Cheap energy source | Not green |
| Reliable energy | Not sustainable nor renewable |
| Abundance of coal | Global warming |
| Mature technology | Air pollution |
What is the reliability of coal?
Coal passes the reliability test with flying colors. It is abundant. It is widely available. It is a stable and secure source of supply.
What is an example of a stranded asset?
There are already examples of coal mines, coal and gas power plants, and other hydrocarbon reserves which have become stranded by the low carbon transition. Examples of stranded assets in the oil and gas industry: Resources – oil and gas currently in the ground awaiting production, including reserves.
What are transition risks?
Transition risks are business-related risks that follow societal and economic shifts toward a low-carbon and more climate-friendly future. These risks can include policy and regulatory risks, technological risks, market risks, reputational risks, and legal risks.