1. Chapter 19 – Coal This kind, not that kind

2. Energy Sources ✤ Nonrenewable energy sources are those whose resources are being used faster than can be replenished. ✤ Coal, oil, natural gas, and uranium (nuclear) ✤ Renewable energy sources replenish themselves or are continuously present as a feature of the environment. ✤ Solar, wind, geothermal, tidal, etc. ✤ Some forms are referred to as perpetual energy

3. A Little Fossil Fuel Humor How do you confuse a coal miner? Show him two shovels and ask him to take his pick!

4. U.S. Energy Sources ✤ What percentage of our energy comes from: ✤ Coal ✤ Oil ✤ Natural gas ✤ Nuclear ✤ Solar ✤ Wind ✤ Geothermal ✤ Hydropower

5. Energy Sources

7. Resources and Reserves ✤ A resource is a naturally occurring substance used by humans ✤ A reserve is a known deposit that can be economically extracted using current technology, under certain economic conditions ✤ Reserve levels change as technology advances, new discoveries are made, and economic conditions vary

8. Resources and Reserves ✤ Reserves are easy to get to and make money ✤ Some resources are harder to get to and will not make as much money

9. Example: Tar Sands ✤ Tar sands are a mixture of clay, sand, water, and an extremely dense form of petroleum ✤ Because it is difficult to extract and process, oil from tar sands used to be too expensive to produce ✤ Now, with improved technology and higher crude oil prices, tar sands are finally considered somewhat economical

10. Coal Formation ✤ 300 million years ago, plant material began collecting in swamps, initiating decay, forming a spongy mass of organic material ✤ Due to geological changes, some of these deposits were covered with sediment and water ✤ Pressure and heat over time transformed the organic matter into coal

12. Coal ✤ Coal is most abundant fossil fuel ✤ Primarily used for generating electricity ✤ There are 3 categories of coal: ✤ Lignite – least desirable because of its high moisture content ✤ Bituminous – most widely used because it is most abundant and easiest to mine ✤ Anthracite – has the highest energy content and is cleanest burning, but is hard to obtain

14. Coal Reserves in the U.S. anthracitebituminouslignite

15. Coal in the World ✤ Where in the world is coal found?

16. Coal Mining

18. Mountain Top Removal

21. Coal Mining Methods

22. Strip Mining Shovel

24. Strip Mining Bucket

25. Surface Strip Mining

26. Strip Mining Coal Seam

27. Mine Gallery Size

28. Coal Miner

29. Continuous Coal Agar

30. Longwall Mining Machine

31. What are the environmental impacts of mining coal?

32. Impacts of Mining Coal ✤ Mining can cause subsidence - the ground settles and disturbs the surface

34. At the entrance to a collapsed coal mine. The trucks and shovel are trying to open the collapsed mine opening. Environmental Damage – Collapsed Mine

35. Impacts of Mining Coal Mr. Strogen, circa 2050

36. Impacts of Mining Coal Acid mine drainage Water that comes out of mines is often highly acidic Text

37. Surface-Mine Reclamation Surface-mine reclamation. By law, after a mine has closed the land must be restored to its pre-mining conditions.

38. Coal - Fired Power Plant

39. Coal Pollution - Merrimack, NH

40. Control & Pollution Prevention ✤ Reduce demand ✤ Use low sulfur coal ✤ Filter smoke stack smoke ✤ Filter bags ✤ Water spray

41. Waste Disposal & Accidents ✤ Ash and soot in landfills, radioactive materials concentrated ✤ Damage to land during mining: ✤ more with surface ✤ less with subsurface In December, 2008 a storage lake filled with coal ash and water flooded the near by town. Kingston TN

42. Summary ✤ What are the pros to using coal? ✤ What are the cons to using coal?