Why Coal is NOT Green Energy

I passed a billboard today that made me mad. Actually, a lot of billboards do that, but this one made me particularly angry. It said something along the lines of "Coal saves you 30% on your energy bill...now that's Green Energy!" There are so many things wrong with this statement.

First, coal is not green...it is black. See?

I'm hilarious.

More to the point of this entry, coal is not "green" in the modern day figurative sense. Rather than tell you why coal is bad for the environment, it would be more helpful for  me to just link to a credible source. http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-and-you/affect/coal.html.

Just to elaborate on some of those points, many of the gasses in the "Air Emissions" section are known greenhouse gasses, which obviously contribute to Global Climate Change. Many of you reading this may not believe in Global Climate Change (previously known as Global Warming). For the sake of argument, let's just pretend that GCC is not a real thing. I can still convince you coal isn't green. The sulfur-containing gasses that are released have been shown to lead to the formation of acid rain. If you think acid rain is good, I have no hope for you.

Additionally, coal is not typically mined like it is in the books or movies, with men wandering through deep mine shafts that frequently explode. Most of the time, a process called strip mining is used. When a coal source is strip mined, the land covering the source is completely excavated so the coal can be easily collected. For anyone who has ever experienced the natural beauty present in the three states listed on the above page (okay, maybe not Kentucky), it is sad to picture that land being ripped apart for fuel that isn't even reusable.

You might say, "Do you have any idea how important coal is to our society?" I would reply with a resounding yes! Coal is the most abundant fossil fuel in the United States, and can sustain the electric needs of this ecological nightmare of a country (I love the USA by the way, we just have a massive ecological footprint) for several years into the future. I am by no means suggesting that we stop mining or using coal, as this is incredibly unrealistic. My problem is with the attitude of complacency. It is okay to use coal, so long as we realize that it is (1) not a sustainable source of energy, and (2) it is indeed harmful for the environment in many ways. The billboard I saw today suggests "It's okay that we depend on such a fuel source, we should make ourselves feel good about doing so and not think about any of the problems it creates!" Is that the attitude we want to inspire, particularly in the younger generations who will inherit the problems associated with fossil fuel dependence? Yes, we need coal for now. But billboards should be influencing the common man by piquing his interest toward advancements in alternative energy sources that will be both renewable and have little-to-no toxic effects on this planet. Let's not pat ourselves on the back for our mediocrity, America. Let's do what made this country great in the first place: Push the boundaries of science, ingenuity, and technology. This all starts with the acknowledgement of a problem, and this particular problem is that coal is NOT green energy.