Coal: An Unwanted Relic of Yesteryear

There was a time in history when people didn’t have cars, when people didn’t have planes, and people rarely traveled more than twenty or thirty miles from their home. There was a time when most production came from a farm or a skilled tradesman. This all began to change starting with the industrial revolution, a revolution largely powered by coal.

Today, trips across the country and around the world are common. Today we can communicate instantly with anyone around the world. Today we even have boxes whose sole purpose is to record our favorite shows all so that we are not inconvenienced by missing them in the rush of our busy lives. Today a large percentage of energy still comes from coal, despite the introduction of numerous other technologies that could reduce the need for coal.

However, industry doesn’t want to hear this. For them, coal represents cheap profits. They choose to ignore the fact that when one looks at the big picture, coal is anything but cheap. Coal is shipped from where it is mined using coal trains. These coal trains spread coal dust along their route, increasing the risk of respiratory problems for people who live near them. Furthermore, there have been close to 20 coal train derailments this year alone.

Despite this, big coal companies such as Arch Coal and Peabody Energy are proposing to ramp up coal export to China. They seek to strip mine coal in the Powder River basin in Wyoming and Montana, ship them through the Northwest on coal trains that could each be over a mile long and have several export terminals along the northwest coast for shipment overseas to China. When China burns the coal they would not only be harming their already compromised environment, but the air pollution could then travel back across to Pacific, impacting air quality along the west coast. 

While it will ultimately be the U.S. Army Corps that decides whether to approve the permits for coal export terminals in the Pacific Northwest, the resulting harm will be felt not only here, not only in China, but also globally.  The increased consumption of coal exacerbates a planet already facing climate change crisis. The reality of China's environment and the global issues related to these proposals are addressed by Izzy, an international student, in her recent testimony at the November 3^rd Harbor, WA hearings.

As I said, coal became big during the environmental revolution, but it never took its cue to exit. Because of this, we are long overdue for another revolution, an environmental revolution where we once and for all make coal a thing of the past.

Written for SIEL by:
Juan Bacigalupi, 2L