After combustion, the remaining coal ash and sludge is often disposed of in unlined and

unmonitored landfills and reservoirs. Heavy metals and toxic substances contained in this waste can
contaminate drinking water supplies and harm local ecosystems. Even worse, failed reservoirs can
flood coal waste into surrounding areas. In 2008, a Tennessee Valley Authority coal ash pond spilled
into the nearby environment, requiring over $1 billion in estimated clean up costs." In addition, "Beyond
global warming, coal is responsible for countless environmental damages across the entire fuel cycle,
from mining, to burning, to the disposal of waste products. As discussed above, mining can lead to
serious environmental impacts, including alteration of landscapes and resulting ecosystem destruction,
water contamination, and human health and safety hazards. M
TR mininghas proven to be extremely
destructive in this respect. Between 1985 and 2001, more than 7 percent of Appalachian forests were
cut down and more than 1,200 miles of streams buried or polluted mining coal this way. In addition,
black lung disease continues to kill about 1,000 former coal miners annually in the United States."

Wrap-up

As you can see, coal is clearly not the fuel of the future. Now that we have knowledge of other
sources, (wind, solar, etc.) we should use these instead, not to mention all the damage that coal can
cause, from climate change to environmental damage.

Chapter 1's GalaxyGlossary

Black water: Discolored, contaminated water, usually because of coal, sludge, or coal cleaning substances.
Exxon Valdez:An oil tanker that crashed into the Bligh Reef, and spilled more than 11 million gallons of crude
oil into the cold, clear waters of Alaska's Prince William Sound -- one of the "last best places" on Earth.
-CNN (Remember the nation's worst black water spill? 11 million x 30 = 3.3 billion gallons of black water
spilled in the Inez, Kentucky area.)
Hydrocarbons:A mixture of hydrogen, carbon, and petroleum.
MTR mining:Mountaintop Removal Mining. An extremely destructive and damaging mining format, which
involves cutting off the top of the mountain to access the coal beneath it. (Usually not that much.) This is
mauling Appalachia (The area of the Appalachian mountains) and destroying the landscape, complete with
draglines the size of a city block, which can take 100 tons of coal in a single load. What (
Insert negative word
here) person thought of such an idea? The
Natural Resources Defense Councilputs it perfectly: In the
Sierras, they climb them. In the Rockies, they ski them. In Appalachia, they level them.
Nitrogen oxide and Nitrogen oxides: The sum of nitric oxide (NO) and NO2 is commonly called nitrogen oxides or
NOx. -U.S. EPA.
Pulverize:A machine that reduces objects (that passing through inside the pulverizer) to fine particles.
Slurry:A thick, gooey mixture that contains water and usually poor quality or leftover coal. May occasionally
include coal cleaning substances.

Overall Score: (1/10=*Insert curse word of choice here*)Coal plants are large,
wasteful, and extremely harmful. We have better knowledge and ideas now! Besides, well run out of coal by 2192, based on
our current usage of coal, The Environmental Impact Assessmentstates.