Economic And Public Health Benefits Of Coal

Humans have been relying on coal as an energy source for hundreds of years. Coal may be an inexpensive source of energy, but comes at the price of harming the environment. Critics of this industry say we should total abandon the use of coal because of its negative impacts and supports say that its economic impacts outweigh its environmental impacts. A solution to this issue is to find the common ground between these two sides and still use coal as an energy source, but put regulations on coal mining and burning and to start using alternative energy sources such as renewable energy that have less of a carbon footprint. To find a balance between these two sides we must evaluate them through the lens of environmental and economic literacy. To
However, the coal industry produces a good majority of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions, creates pollution in water ways, destroys habits, and coal mining creates many health hazards for humans and animals. Strict regulation on the coal industry will help reduce the environmental effects and help reduce its effect on human health. Implementing alternative energy sources such as renewable energy will have environmental benefits, but we need to also take advantage of the valuable resource that coal is. A reason our society has relied so heavily on coal as a source of energy is because of its economic benefits. A statement from the “Economic and Public Health Benefits of Coal-Bases Energy” by Eugene M. Trisko says, “annual benefit of coal use at currently projected levels is estimated at more than $1
Renewable energy sources such as wind energy, biomass, water energy and solar energy are sources of energy that produces a microscopic amount of pollution compared to fossil fuels such as coal. The only downside to these energy sources is the cost. In the article, “The Importance of Using Renewable Energy in the Form of Biomass” by Gageanu et al, they say, “The transition towards renewable energy systems seems more and more possible as their costs decreases while the price of oil and natural gas continues to fluctuate” (159). The cost of these sources of energy are why we cannot discontinue using coal, but as the cost of these sources goes down we can start relying on them more. Also in the article, Gageanu et al, say “The potential of renewable energy sources is huge, because these sources can surpass many times the global demand for energy” (159). Eventually, fuels such as oil and coal will run out so we need to work more on discovering how to reduce the cost of these products to allow for energy that is safe, clean, and inexpensive. By slowly relying more on renewable energy we can still use coal, but also start to reduce our environmental impact caused by using fossil fuels as energy