Leave the coal for Santa
Coal. That’s right, it might not be in your stocking this year, but we use it every day. As children, we are told that Santa Claus only comes to kids on his nice list and those on the naughty list get coal. Imagine what Saint Nicholas would say if he knew how much we use coal. Coal accounts for roughly 25 percent of the energy used in America. Mostly used for electricity, coal keeps the lights on in your house.
Both the environmental and societal impacts of coal are cumulative and cause the true cost to be double or triple the perceived price. So basically, not all externalities are accounted for with this energy source and proper analysis of the costs should be reflected accurately. Present-day profits overshadow the need for long term ecological stability.
We cannot co-exist with nature in a mutually interdependent way if we are not willing to reduce our consumption and change our power sources. Fossil fuel-based resources have given modern mankind such an unprecedented excess of power. However, the social cost of climate change will drastically outweigh the social benefits of fossil fuels.
Power plants that burn coal are less than 40 percent efficient; this is unsustainable to both the market and environment. Coal mining and electricity generation infrastructure must transition to another natural resource; nuclear is a concentrated energy source like coal and provides one of the highest energy dense resources on Earth. There are over 500 coal power plants in the USA and many of them use significant amounts of water in their cooling process. Unfortunately, this water is now polluted and was originally subsidized by taxpayers and future generations.
Over half of these power plants are no longer economically viable compared to cleaner and more affordable options. With distributed power sources like solar, wind and geothermal, individuals can reduce the usage of inefficient transmission lines and fossil fuels. As battery storage technology develops over time, humans will be able to provide themselves with energy at any time. This will reduce the need for coal to be used as a base load for our energy usage. Likewise, passive solar heating and radiant heating technology need to be implemented in all facets of the built environment.
Mountain top removal is a product of coal mining in the Appalachian Mountains and those ecosystems will never return nor can be replaced. Natural beauty must be preserved and maintained for future generations. Our willingness to pay for complete mountains should outweigh coal profits. Once all marginal social costs are accounted for with coal, it is not a cheap energy source.
If you want to make a difference, flip the switch or even buy green energy from Logan City.
It’s your world; be part of the solution and demand the change needed from the system.
Let’s put coal to bed and leave it in the ground for Santa to use for folks on his naughty list.