Coal’s Cost on the Environment The environment is becoming one of the central issues in our world today. With effects such as global warming, we are not going to have much time left on this planet if we sit here and do nothing. The use and mining of coal is one of the largest environmental factors in the world. According to the World Health Organization, “coal particulates pollution are estimated to shorten approximately 1,000,000 lives annually worldwide, including nearly 24,000 lives a year in the United States”. You may think, why are we still using and mining this stuff if it is killing us? We really shouldn’t be, but the only problem is that harming the environment can be an offset of making a lot money. As it will be looked into …show more content…
The first known use was in China in 3490 B.C., with major production starting in the first Industrial Revolution in Britain. “One of the main reasons for this was the country being endowed with extensive cheap coal supplies which not only provided cheap energy and a lucrative export trade but also acted as a stimulus to innovation in a wide range of industries well before 1770” (Spear). At first, coal mining was seen as a monumental discovery. Although it was an amazing discovery that led to greater things in the world, we now know that coal isn’t as good as we thought it was. Coal is one of the worst if not the worst producer of greenhouse gasses. When burned, coal produces one third more carbon dioxide that gas, and double the carbon dioxide of natural gases. “Additionally, the mining and processing of coal typically leads to the emission of methane, which is trapped in natural deposits of coal and is a much more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide” (Bell). So how many people are actually still using this even though there are better options? Probably more than you thought. Coal is still the predominant use of energy around the world at 40%. With future projections of coal produced greenhouse gases through the roof, coal is the greatest threat the world faces today. The process of mining coal has its own environmental effects also. According to Shannon Bell and Richard York, “the mining and processing …show more content…
Some counties depend on coal as a fuel to provide energy, and some countries depend on coal as a natural resource to make money for their country. The United States is a prime example of a country that depends on the use of coal as a source of energy. We are very lucky to be rich in natural resources like coal as well. Then there are countries like China, Poland, and India, which also have large reserves of the natural resource coal. Taking a closer look at China, which “as the primary source of energy in China, coal accounts for about 50 % of the non-recyclable energy consumption of the country” (Shi). China has around 4,025,376.53 thousand short tons of coal reserves (Coal). Around the world, China is typically thought of a developed country due to its large population and production of goods such as coal and manufactured products. However, when you look at the Human Development Index (HDI) for China, it might surprise you. The Human Development Index is a measure of the level of human development in a country. It includes GDP per capita, life expectancy, and education levels (Scott 278). The Human Development Index for China is 0.699, which is quite lower than countries like the United States at 0.937 and Canada at 0.911. For a country that uses and produces so much coal, how are they not as developed as other countries such as the United States? One way of explaining this is through the