Clean Coal? Myth or Reality

Coal is inexpensive, efficient, and plentiful, but it is horrible for the environment. The term “clean coal” has been thrown around a lot since people have started to pay more attention to what is going on in our environment, but not many people know what it actually is. Clean coal “is often understood to mean coal plants that capture the carbon dioxide emitted from smokestacks and bury it underground as a way of limiting global warming” (Plumer, par. 3). That means the coal is not actually clean or better for the environment. They just try to capture the greenhouse gasses, and store them somewhere else. It is still unclear whether storing it elsewhere will have negative environmental impacts down the road. “Clean coal” is not actually clean because there are only a few companies using “clean coal” methods, it still produces greenhouse gasses and pollutants, and there is still a lot pollution and environmental damage from mining coal.

“Clean coal” is still coal. It is just managed differently by using different technologies to turn it into energy. Carbon capture and storage, the process of capturing carbon dioxide after the coal is burned, “is still in its infancy. Only one coal plant in the United States, the Petra Nova project in Texas, actually captures CO2 in this fashion, having come online in January” (Plumer, par. 4). Unfortunately, the methods to “clean” coal are very expensive, and they have “barely been used in commercial power plants” (Bryce). Brad Plumer, a reporter for The New York Times explains, “The Southern Company had to abandon a more ambitious coal carbon capture project in Kemper, Miss., in June after it ran $4 billion over budget. No other coal plants of this sort are currently being constructed in the United States” (What ‘Clean Coal’ is, par. 5). It is still much cheaper to continue to emit carbon dioxide, and many companies ignore the negative impacts of burning coal.

Not only are there very few companies using actual “clean coal” methods that reduce carbon dioxide, coal produces more pollutants than just carbon dioxide. Kendra Pierre- Louis explains that “coal powered plants emit a host of noxious pollutants. For example, each year, coal fired plants pump out 146,000 tons of PM2.5 pollution, a form of particulate matter roughly 40 times smaller than a grain of sand. They also pump out 197,000 tons of PM10 pollution, a form of particulate matter or dust that's 10 microns big” (There’s no such thing, par. 3). All those tiny pollutants are why people get sick. They are so small, they can get past our nose and deep into our lungs. She goes on to say, “PM pollution causes health issues ranging from asthma to heart attacks. A study released earlier this year found that every year, 3.45 million people worldwide die an early death due to PM 2.5 pollution alone” (There’s no such thing, par. 4). All that “clean coal” power plants are burning still causes a lot of pollution.

Finally, and for the very last time, “clean coal” is still just coal. People have to mine “clean coal” the same way they mine for regular coal because it is the same exact thing. Mining for coal is extremely damaging to the environment. One of the most popular forms of mining for coal is mountain top removal. Mountain top removal is exactly what is sounds like. Coal companies strip the top of a mountain of its vegetation, and then blast it with explosives to remove the top and get to the coal underneath. It is extremely destructive. Michael Hendryx, a research investigator on MTR (mountain top removal), explains, “So far, over 500 mountains have been destroyed. About 2,000 miles of streams have been permanently buried” (The Shocking Danger). After they have collected the coal from the mountain, they clean it and dump the water in the nearby valleys. This whole process contaminates all the water and air in the area, and it “remains contaminated for decades” (Hendryx). In conclusion, mining for coal is destructive to the environment, and creates a lot of pollution.

It is clear that “clean coal” is not and will never actually be clean or okay for our environment. Power companies need to move away from coal mining and burning so that we have a better planet for the generations to come.

References:

Bryce, E. (n.d.). How to create cleaner coal. Retrieved April 2, 2020, from https://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-to-create-cleaner-coal-emma-bryce

Hendryx, M. (2017). The shocking danger of mountaintop removal and why it must end. TedMed. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/michael_hendryx_the_shocking_danger_of_mountaintop_removal_and_why_it_must_end#t-770190

Pierre-Louis, K. (2019, March 18). There's no such thing as clean coal. Retrieved April 2, 2020, from https://www.popsci.com/coal-power-plants-cpp/

Plumer, B. (2017, August 23). What ‘clean coal’ is—and isn’t. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/23/climate/what-clean-coal-is-and-isnt.html