if you know anything about 'COAL' (uno, that black stuff) help me out!!!?

Question

what are the effects of coal on the environment, why is it bad??
and what does the church have to say about the use of coal??

Answer 1

Coal (IPA: /ˈkəʊl/) is a fossil fuel formed in swamp ecosystems where plant remains were saved by water and mud from oxidization and biodegradation. Coal is a readily combustible black or brownish-black rock. It is a sedimentary rock, but the harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rocks because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure. It is composed primarily of carbon along with assorted other elements, including sulfur. It is the largest single source of fuel for the generation of electricity world-wide, as well as the largest source of carbon dioxide emissions, which is believed to be the primary cause of global warming. Coal is extracted from the ground by coal mining, either underground mining or open pit mining (surface mining).

The word "coal" is of Polish origin, and appears in many Germanic languages (German language Kohle, Swedish language kol), also giving the name for element carbon in those languages. Charcoal is wood rendered to carbon and carbonic compounds by pyrolysis.

Coal is primarily used as a solid fuel to produce electricity and heat through combustion. World coal consumption is about 5.3 billion tonnes annually, of which about 75% is used for the production of electricity. The region including the People's Republic of China and India uses about 1.7 billion tonnes annually, forecast to exceed 2.7 billion tonnes in 2025.[4] The USA consumes about 1.0 billion tons of coal each year, using 90% of it for generation of electricity. Coal is the fastest growing energy source in the world, with coal use increasing by 25% for the three-year period ending in December 2004 (BP Statistical Energy Review, June 2005).

When coal is used for electricity generation, it is usually pulverized and then burned in a furnace with a boiler. The furnace heat converts boiler water to steam, which is then used to spin turbines which turn generators and create electricity. The thermodynamic efficiency of this process has been improved over time. "Standard" steam turbines have topped out with some of the most advanced reaching about 35% thermodynamic efficiency for the entire process, which means 65% of the coal energy is rejected as waste heat into the surrounding environment. Old coal power plants, especially "grandfathered" plants, are significantly less efficient and reject higher levels of waste heat. The emergence of the supercritical turbine concept envisions running a boiler at extremely high temperatures and pressures with projected efficiencies of 46%, with further theorized increases in temperature and pressure perhaps resulting in even higher efficiencies[5] Approximately 40% of the world electricity production uses coal. The total known deposits recoverable by current technologies, including highly polluting, low energy content types of coal (i.e., lignite, bituminous), might be sufficient for 300 years' use at current consumption levels, although maximal production could be reached within decades (see World Coal Reserves, below).

A more energy-efficient way of using coal for electricity production would be via solid-oxide fuel cells or molten-carbonate fuel cells (or any oxygen ion transport based fuel cells that do not discriminate between fuels, as long as they consume oxygen), which would be able to get 60%–85% combined efficiency (direct electricity + waste heat steam turbine). Currently these fuel cell technologies can only process gaseous fuels, and they are also sensitive to sulfur poisoning, issues which would first have to be worked out before large scale commercial success is possible with coal. As far as gaseous fuels go, one idea is pulverized coal in a gas carrier, such as nitrogen. Another option is coal gasification with water, which may lower fuel cell voltage by introducing oxygen to the fuel side of the electrolyte, but may also greatly simplify carbon sequestration.

Coal mining
Coal mining causes a number of harmful effects. When coal surfaces are exposed, pyrite (iron sulfide), also known as "fool's gold", comes in contact with water and air and forms sulfuric acid. As water drains from the mine, the acid moves into the waterways, and as long as rain falls on the mine tailings the sulfuric acid production continues, whether the mine is still operating or not. If the coal is strip mined, the entire exposed seam leaches sulfuric acid, leaving the infertile subsoil on the surface and begins to pollute streams by acidifying and killing fish, plants, and aquatic animals who are sensitive to drastic pH shifts.

By the late 1930s, it was estimated that American coal mines produced about 2.3 million tonnes of sulfuric acid annually. In the Ohio River Basin, where twelve hundred operating coal mines drained an estimated annual 1.4 million tonnes of sulfuric acid into the waters in the 1960s and thousands of abandoned coal mines leached acid as well. In Pennsylvania alone, mine drainage had blighted 2,000 stream miles by 1967.


[edit] Coal burning
Combustion of coal, like any other fossil fuel, produces carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) along with varying amounts of sulfur dioxide (SO2) depending on where it was mined. Sulfur dioxide reacts with oxygen to form sulfur trioxide (SO3), which then reacts with water to form sulfuric acid (see Acid anhydride for more information). The sulfuric acid is returned to the Earth as acid rain.

Emissions from coal-fired power plants represent the largest source of carbon dioxide emissions, which have been implicated as the primary cause of global warming. Coal mining and abandoned mines also emit methane, another cause of global warming. Since the carbon content of coal is much higher than oil, burning coal is a more serious threat to the stability of the global climate, as this carbon forms CO2 when burned. Many other pollutants are present in coal power station emissions, as solid coal is more difficult to clean than oil, which is refined before use. A study commissioned by environmental groups claims that coal power plant emissions are responsible for tens of thousands of premature deaths annually in the United States alone.[10] Modern power plants utilize a variety of techniques to limit the harmfulness of their waste products and improve the efficiency of burning, though these techniques are not subject to standard testing or regulation in the U.S. and are not widely implemented in some countries, as they add to the capital cost of the power plant. To eliminate CO2 emissions from coal plants, carbon capture and storage has been proposed but has yet to be commercially used.

Coal and coal waste products including fly ash, bottom ash, boiler slag, and flue gas desulferization contain many heavy metals, including arsenic, lead, mercury, nickel, vanadium, beryllium, cadmium, barium, chromium, copper, molybdenum, zinc, selenium and radium, which are dangerous if released into the environment. Coal also contains low levels of uranium, thorium, and other naturally-occurring radioactive isotopes whose release into the environment may lead to radioactive contamination.[11][12] While these substances are trace impurities, enough coal is burned that significant amounts of these substances are released, resulting in more radioactive waste than nuclear power plants.[13]

Due to its scientifically accepted connection with climate change [1], the world's reliance on coal as an energy source, and health concerns in areas with poor air pollution controls, The Economist recently labeled the burning of coal "Environmental Enemy No. 1."[14]

Answer 2

in relation to your question I found a site clostes to the answer you are looking for.


A Change of Climate. TimesOnLine (UK). June 8, 2007. “The language of international negotiations often needs decoding. When the politicians pronounced a ’successful deal’ on climate change at the G8 summit yesterday, they were naturally putting a positive gloss on an agreement which is still a long way from an ironclad commitment to reduce greenhouse gases. Yet to brand it rather scornfully as a ‘compromise’, as others have done, is to underplay the significant progress that has been made. Of course the deal is a compromise. That is in the nature of such talks. What matters is that America has clearly come in from the cold. It was Tony Blair who first put climate change on the G8 agenda two years ago. What he wanted most from this summit was an American commitment to participate in the UN process for developing the new international framework which must replace the Kyoto Protocol before it expires in 2012. This is what he and Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, have achieved. While America remained the only G8 nation outside the Kyoto Protocol, it was unlikely that India and China could ever be persuaded to participate in any meaningful way. So the White House’s shift is highly significant, although it is timid when compared with the bold targets already set unilaterally by US states such as New York and California, and also when put alongside the calls for action by many US businesses. The change in the American position this week enables the parties to get on with developing the details of a post2012 framework.”

Answer 3

I can't say anything about religious policy, as I'm not religious.

Coal is bad for the environment and people because the combustion emits a number of troublesome or outright toxic materials.  These include sulfur (causes acid rain), nitrogen oxides (acid rain and smog), mercury (highly toxic), fine soot and fly ash (causes lung irritation and cardiac problems), and carbon dioxide (accelerates greenhouse warming).

Answer 4

hi mim sorry but i dont have an answer but nice seeing you
anyways