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UK power plants just went five days without burning any coal (energy lifestyles)

#1
C C Offline
https://www.theverge.com/2019/5/7/185353...revolution

EXCERPT: UK power plants have just gone over five days without burning any coal, their longest coal-free streak since the Industrial Revolution, Bloomberg reports. The five-day period, which began on May 1st, beats the 90-hour record that was set earlier this year. The UK intends to phase out coal power completely by 2025. [...] While this a step in the right direction ... domestic power consumption isn’t the whole story. ... the UK’s contribution toward greenhouse gas emissions is far higher when you count so-called “consumption emissions” ... Still, the UK’s transition away from coal is in a far better state than in the US, where President Trump declared that his administration was “putting an end to the war on coal” back in 2017... (MORE - details)
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#2
Syne Offline
How about this. The UK quits using coal, shows a measurable improvement to the climate, and THEN we'll all think about following suit. Otherwise, piss off with this political agenda bullshit.
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#3
Magical Realist Online
Quote:How about this. The UK quits using coal, shows a measurable improvement to the climate, and THEN we'll all think about following suit. Otherwise, piss off with this political agenda bullshit.

LOL! As if there's any question that coal emissions and coal byproducts adversely affect the environment.

"There are numerous damaging environmental impacts of coal that occur through its mining, preparation, combustion, waste storage, and transport. This article provides an overview. Each topic is explored in greater depth in separate articles, as are several related topics:

Acid mine drainage (AMD) refers to the outflow of acidic water from coal mines or metal mines, often abandoned mines where ore- or coal mining activities have exposed rocks containing the sulphur-bearing mineral pyrite. Pyrite reacts with air and water to form sulphuric acid and dissolved iron, and as water washes through mines, this compound forms a dilute acid, which can wash into nearby rivers and streams.[1]


Air pollution from coal-fired power plants includes sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter (PM), and heavy metals, leading to smog, acid rain, toxins in the environment, and numerous respiratory, cardiovascular, and cerebrovascular effects.[2]

Air pollution from coal mines is mainly due to emissions of particulate matter and gases including methane (CH4), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and nitrogen oxides (NOx), as well as carbon monoxide (CO).[3]

Climate impacts of coal plants - Coal-fired power plants are responsible for one-third of America’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, making coal a huge contributor to global warming.[4] Black carbon resulting from incomplete combustion is an additional contributor to climate change.[5]

Coal dust stirred up during the mining process, as well as released during coal transport, which can cause severe and potentially deadly respiratory problems.[6]

Coal fires occur in both abandoned coal mines and coal waste piles. Internationally, thousands of underground coal fires are burning now. Global coal fire emissions are estimated to include 40 tons of mercury going into the atmosphere annually, and three percent of the world's annual carbon dioxide emissions.[7][8]

Coal combustion waste is the nation's second largest waste stream after municipal solid waste.[9] It is disposed of in landfills or "surface impoundments," which are lined with compacted clay soil, a plastic sheet, or both. As rain filters through the toxic ash pits year after year, the toxic metals are leached out into the local environment.[10][11]

Coal sludge, also known as slurry, is the liquid coal waste generated by washing coal. It is typically disposed of at impoundments located near coal mines, but in some cases it is directly injected into abandoned underground mines. Since coal sludge contains toxins, leaks or spills can endanger underground and surface waters.[2]
Floods such as the Buffalo Creek Flood caused by mountaintop removal mining and failures of coal mine impoundments.

Forest destruction caused by mountaintop removal mining - According to a 2010 study, mountaintop removal mining has destroyed 6.8% of Appalachia's forests.[12][13]

Greenhouse gas emissions caused by surface mining - According to a 2010 study, mountaintop removal mining releases large amounts of carbon through clearcutting and burning of trees and through releases of carbon in soil brought to the surface by mining operations. These greenhouse gas emissions amount to at least 7% of conventional power plant emissions.[14][15]

Loss or degradation of groundwater - Since coal seams are often serve as underground aquifers, removal of coal beds may result in drastic changes in hydrology after mining has been completed.

Radical disturbance of 8.4 million acres of farmland, rangeland, and forests, most of which has not been reclaimed -- See The footprint of coal

Heavy metals and coal - Coal contains many heavy metals, as it is created through compressed organic matter containing virtually every element in the periodic table - mainly carbon, but also heavy metals. The heavy metal content of coal varies by coal seam and geographic region. Small amounts of heavy metals can be necessary for health, but too much may cause acute or chronic toxicity (poisoning). Many of the heavy metals released in the mining and burning of coal are environmentally and biologically toxic elements, such as lead, mercury, nickel, tin, cadmium, antimony, and arsenic, as well as radio isotopes of thorium and strontium.[16][17][18]

Mercury and coal - Emissions from coal-fired power plants are the largest source of mercury in the United States, accounting for about 41 percent (48 tons in 1999) of industrial releases.[19]
Methane released by coal mining accounts for about 10 percent of US releases of methane (CH4), a potent global warming gas.[20]

Mountaintop removal mining and other forms of surface mining can lead to the drastic alteration of landscapes, destruction of habitat, damages to water supplies, and air pollution. Not all of these effects can be adequately addressed through coal mine reclamation.

Particulates and coal - Particulate matter (PM) includes the tiny particles of fly ash and dust that are expelled from coal-burning power plants.[21] Studies have shown that exposure to particulate matter is related to an increase of respiratory and cardiac mortality.[22] [23]

Radioactivity and coal - Coal contains minor amounts of the radioactive elements, uranium and thorium. When coal is burned, the fly ash contains uranium and thorium "at up to 10 times their original levels."[24]

Subsidence - Land subsidence may occur after any type of underground mining, but it is particularly common in the case of longwall mining.[25]

Sulfur dioxide and coal - Coal-fired power plants are the largest human-caused source of sulfur dioxide, a pollutant gas that contributes to the production of acid rain and causes significant health problems. Coal naturally contains sulfur, and when coal is burned, the sulfur combines with oxygen to form sulfur oxides.[26]

Thermal pollution from coal plants is the degradation of water quality by power plants and industrial manufacturers - when water used as a coolant is returned to the natural environment at a higher temperature, the change in temperature impacts organisms by decreasing oxygen supply, and affecting ecosystem composition.[27]

Toxins - According to a July 2011 NRDC report, "How Power Plants Contaminate Our Air and States" electricity generation in the U.S. releases 381,740,601 lbs. of toxic air pollution annually, or 49% of total national emissions, based on data from the EPA’s Toxic Release Inventory (2009 data, accessed June 2011). Power plants are the leading sources of toxic air pollution in all but four of the top 20 states by electric sector emissions.

Transportation - Coal is often transported via trucks, railroads, and large cargo ships, which release air pollution such as soot and can lead to disasters that ruin the environment, such as the Shen Neng 1 coal carrier collision with the Great Barrier Reef, Australia that occurred in April 2010.
Waste coal, also known as "culm," "gob," or "boney," is made up of unused coal mixed with soil and rock from previous mining operations. Runoff from waste coal sites can pollute local water supplies.[28]

Water consumption from coal plants - Power generation has been estimated to be second only to agriculture in being the largest domestic user of water.[29]

Water pollution from coal includes the negative health and environmental effects from the mining, processing, burning, and waste storage of coal."

https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/En...ts_of_coal
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#4
Syne Offline
Hey, if the UK has been employing all of the worst practices, without any effluent and other pollutant guidelines, limits, or technological abatement, that's on them. And if so, maybe they should be especially concerned about it in their country...and maybe it could show a measurable improvement to the climate.

But ignoring EPA and other measures to limit the health and environmental impacts is just lazy and ignorant.
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