HELP! me please (science related)?

Question

can anybody help me research the disadvantages of coal as an energy source??? i tried every search engine and encyclopedia and nothing is relating to the topic please help!

Answer 1

I believe the question is biased. If you were to compare it to other energy technology, perhaps you can give an answer. If you look to how coal was used during the Industrial Revolution, you would find many negatives associated with the gasses and soot emitted from open burning of coal. New technology is changing how all fuels are used, including coal, to make it cleaner and safer.
If you were to compare coal to ethanol for example, you could say that the coal gives off too much Carbon Dioxide, but ethanol requires more farm land than we have available! Coal is not renewable, but ethanol is. Compared to Nuclear power, which produces dangerous wastes that last for thousands of years, Coal is safer. Coal is available here in the United States, it doesn't share the political problems of Oil. We do need to develop our renewable energy sources. In the meantime, coal technology is being developed to be cleaner than ever. Here are a few sites that can give you more on the plus sides of coal, and a link to the Sierra Club and some of the negatives of coal. Good Luck!

Answer 2

we can start with coal because it's a natural resource non renewable so look up non renewable resources eventually we are going to run out of this energy source, but we must work to make it an efficient energy source while it is still here.Coal is the most abundant fossil fuel in the United States, however coal is a non-renewable resource, there is a limited supply. Coal has historically been very important, particularly in Pennsylvania. Coal mines employed many people, but coal mining is not an easy process, many people died from miner’s lung, a condition where the particles of coal dust infiltrate your lungs. There were also deaths due to the collapse of mines. Many people in the coal industry had to work long hours with little money there is a downside however because it pollutes the air while giving us electricity. Coal releases several gases when burned including CO2, SO2 and NOx, when burned with oxygen. These gases have hazardous effects on the environment, CO2 hurts the hemoglobin in human blood and this can be fatal. NOx causes smog, and this can greatly reduce visibility, some experts say areas where it was possible to see 70 miles, that now only 15 miles can be viewed. The last gas SO2 is a pollutant which causes acid rain, this corrides most buildings and destroys water supplies and can erode national monuments

this should do the trick let me know

Answer 3

Disadvantages
Coal is one of the dirtiest of fuels. Burning it produces enormous amounts of ash, and flue gasses containing pollutants such as sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, sulphuric acids and arsenic. It also produces almost twice as much carbon dioxide as gas (for the same heat).

These pollutants can be cleaned out of the system before they are released although this obviously adds an extra expense to the cost. There is also the danger that poorer or less conscientious countries will skimp on these controls.

There is also the environmental, human and energy costs of extracting the coal: subsidence, spoil heaps, miners' death and illnesses. It should be noted that something like 50% of the energy used to mine coal comes from oil.


let me know if this works

Answer 4

Just a response to hw_g...

The CO2 levels in human blood are higher than in the air we breathe, and thus the claim that CO2 is harmful to hemoglobin is ignorant and rediculous.

Additionally, while O2 molecules are carried throughout the body by hemoglobin as oxyhemoglobin, CO2 is dissolved directly into blood plasma, creating bicarbonate and H+ (important for regulating blood pH). Therefore, without CO2 in the blood, extreme alkalosis would result, causing overstimulation of the nervous system and eventually seizures and death.

Answer 5

Try these sites:

http://www.gcse.com/energy/coal.htm
http://www.eia.doe.gov/
http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/energyfacts/sources/non-renewable/coal.html
http://www.darvill.clara.net/altenerg/index.htm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/geography/energy/energytypesrev4.shtml