1.05 Billion Tons Of Coal Up In Smoke - Alternative Energy Needed
The U.S Energy Information Administration reports that for the 52 weeks ended on June 12, 2011, the United States mined 1,057,367,000 tons of coal. The vast majority of this coal is used to produce electricity. The coal is burned in power plants to boil water that generates steam. The steam turns turbines to create the electricity that powers our modern world. However, this process is anything but modern.
Coal is a dirty rock that is substantially contributing to our climate problem. The harmful effects of burning coal have been well documented, but in our "out of site out of mind" world, nobody seems to care. Virtually unnoticed, each day thousands and thousands of railroad cars travel across the United States full of coal that is on its way to be burned at power plants.
To put this in perspective, the Empire State Building weighs approximately 365,000 tons. Each day the United States burns about 2,714,140 tons of coal or the equivalent of 7.4 Empire State Buildings.
Clean energy alternatives like solar, geothermal, biomass and wind are available. There is a lot of talk about cost, incentives and grid parity, but these are not the most important factors in deciding where and when to implement these technologies. The true cost of coal is not discussed enough.
Rocks and fire are the tools of the caveman. Ipads and 3d flat screen televisions are technological marvels. It takes electricity to power these modern marvels, but it is truly mind boggling that we get most of our electricity by burning rocks. The United States has created so much advanced technology and has the ability to develop any technology it puts its collective public and private resources behind. However, it seems that we have not put our collective efforts to modernize and change what powers our world.