A Study on the Impact of Coal Use - Essay Example

This obtained from coal which is a combustible dark or dark brown sedimentary rock that occurs within the rock strata. This is in vain layers referred to as coal seams or coal beds. It is this rock mined to produce the required industrial energy through its combustion. Coal primarily comprised of various elements like carbon, sulphur, oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen among other elements. These elements emitted to the atmosphere upon combustion of coal causing various adverse environmental and health effects.

 This is also true for the other alternative fossil fuel sources of energy such as wood energy, petroleum, hydroelectric and nuclear energy whose consumption trends in the U.S has been on a constant rise from 1775-2010, (appendix 1), (Kristina, 6). . This is a combined statistic for industrial and residential consumption. In the year 2008, coal constituted 21% of its total energy consumption which rose to 28% in the year 2009, and this projected to be increasing with every year among all the coal consuming key states (Kristina, 4).

The exports and imports of coal among these countries mainly depicted by the amount and rates of coal energy requirements within the state less the amounts and rates of coal mining and exports the state handles. China's total exports and imports during the year 2009 were about 32.20 and 10.53 million tons respectively. The environmental consequences of the coal industry are wide spread and felt from the extraction to the combustion of coal to produce energy. This is mainly through atmospheric emissions and solid wastes productions that contribute to various heath complications such as cancer and bronchial complications.

This is also true for environmental consequences including climate change and global warming. In the process of coal use, various forms of harmful environmental gasses produced such as carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide, and oxides of nitrogen and from such emissions component hayrides and nitrides such as sulphur nitrate and hydrogen cyanide produced (James, 1-4). The emission of such gasses into the atmosphere contribute to the aspect climate change that poses a considerable challenge to the survival of the planed and can also lead to the production of acid rain; reaction of rain water molecules and sulphur trioxide in the atmosphere, which also has significant effects to the vegetation.

In order to avert and prevent against the various