What do you think of global warming?

[shihtzulover850]

they think they have found a way to make coal cleaner. coal has become something much easier to use beause the us has such an abundance of it. it is dirty but it lessens the dependence on foreign oil.

[Pembroke_Corgi]

they think they have found a way to make coal cleaner. coal has become something much easier to use beause the us has such an abundance of it. it is dirty but it lessens the dependence on foreign oil.

The problem is not the actual burning of coal- yes, it is cleaner, but the excavation is the real problem. When coal is mined, a gas is released into streams and rivers that kills plant and wildlife. Until they can solve that problem, coal will still be a major polluter. Not to mention, coal is still a fossil fuel, that is it non renewable unlike sun or wind energy.

Some countries are doing more than others, which is why Kyoto was such a bust. The signatory countries have all but admitted that there is no way they can meet the protocol.The biggest reasons Kyoto was a failure out of the starting block is that they set limits to low for any country to reasonably reach, there was no enforcement mechanism, and the countries that are the biggest polluters (China and India) were not required to abide by the restrictions whether they were signatories on the treaty or not.

The Kyoto agreement was a good idea- but I believe the US never even signed it? I think the UN should have more control over areas like this, and make countries culpable for pollution. Industry is obviously important in the global economy, but how long can those industries reasonably last since we do have a finite amount of resources available?

[Lady's Human]

The excavation on coal produces two byproducts. The first is mine tailings, scrap rock from the areas around coal seams which is discarded. If these tailings are improperly handled, they can affect the area around the tailing piles, but laws are in place now that require the tailings to be taken care of in an environmentally friendly manner. If it's a strip mine, the law requires that the mine be returned to the state it was in before mining began, and they usually use the tailings to restore the area to pre-mining state.

The second byproduct is the gas PC referred to. Methane has no immediate harmful effect on the areas around the mine, but is a greenhouse gas. The answer to this is to capture the methane and use it to as fuel (natural gas) or use it to produce methanol. This is currently being done in newer coal mines. Why waste a resource by letting it slip into the atmosphere?

Yes, coal is a fossil fuel, and non-renewable, but until alternatives to fossil fuels are researched and turned into commercially viable sources (in the case of wind and solar power) or allowed to be used (in the case of wind and nuclear power) we have to use something to produce energy.

One large problem with one alternative source of energy that has suddenly become the "in" alternative fuel (hydrogen) is that it takes electricity to produce. Where will that electricity come from? Another problem with it is that combustion of hydrogen yields water vapor, which is itself a powerful greenhouse gas.

[shihtzulover850]

The problem is not the actual burning of coal- yes, it is cleaner, but the excavation is the real problem. When coal is mined, a gas is released into streams and rivers that kills plant and wildlife. Until they can solve that problem, coal will still be a major polluter. Not to mention, coal is still a fossil fuel, that is it non renewable unlike sun or wind energy.

Yeah that is true too! unfortunately there isn't enough backing by people.