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COAL
NATURAL GAS
OIL
COAL
Fossilized, condensed
carbon-rich fuel
10 X reserves of oil/gas,
last 200 years at present rate
Coal mines
Coal cheaper,
but polluting
Much Eastern U.S. coal has
high-sulfur content,
more expensive to mine
Much Western U.S. coal has
low-sulfur content,
cheaper to mine
But mining in semi-arid West
more damaging to land.
51% of U.S.
use in coal
10% lost on
transmission lines
(stray voltage)
Effects on health
Black Lung Disease
(miners)
Respiratory
illnesses
(public)
Effects on land
Coal sludge releases
Hardpan at strip mines
Mountaintop removal
Huge water use
Slurry pipelines
Effects on air
Greenhouse gases
3/4 sulfur dioxide
1/3 nitrogen oxides
1/2 carbon dioxide
Toxics
Mercury
Uranium
Acid rain
Acidity of rain
pH of 6.0
Kills insects, crabs
pH < 5.0
Kills fish, trees
Coal scrubbers
NATURAL GAS
Methane, other
Gases in bedrock
More efficient
10% energy lost
OIL (PETROLEUM)
Buried organic matter
rich in hydrocarbons
Residential
Commercial
Industry
Transportation
0
10
15
20
QUADS of Oil
25
30
2600
30
25
20
2200
15
1800
10
5
0
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
2020
2030
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
50
40
30
20
10
0
1970
1975
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
Persian Gulf
and Caspian Sea
Polluting technologies?
Oil shale extraction
Synthetic fuels (coal-to-oil)
Attempts to
contain spill
Clean-up efforts
Oil in Ecuador
Ecuador 2nd largest S.
America producer
70% of exports
Drilling in Amazon
rainforest
Opposition to oil
companies
Construction of roads,
pipelines on Indian lands
Displacement of Indians,
deforestation
Oil leaks into rivers larger
than Valdez spill
Lawsuit against
Texaco in
U.S. courts, 1999
Oil in Nigeria
Largest producer
in Africa, mainly
In Niger Delta
Environmental problems
in Niger Delta region
Homeland of Ogoni,
Ijaw groups
Ogoni leader
Dr. Ken Saro-Wiwa
executed in 1995