Lecture 4 covers material from Chapter 5 of Energy Systems & Sustainability, 2/e (2012) and introduces and discusses coal, the fossil fuel that powered the industrial revolution and still produces much of our electricity. Coal has become the most controversial fossil fuel as it produces the most carbon dioxide, significant pollution and health hazards, and serious environmental degradation. Yet, much of the world is very dependent on coal, and some hope we can find ways to use coal to produce cleaner power.
America's coal industry and coal economy has become a touchstone for the political, philosophical, economic and cultural divide that has dominated our national consciousness for the past year. Today, energy company CEOs are calling for change and investment in carbon capture and storage is seen as coal's last hope. Module 4 lecture: Coal [Links to short PowerPoint slide sets] 4.1: Coal: an introduction 4.2: Fuel of the industrial revolution 4.3: Formation & composition 4.4: Modern extraction & current use 4.5: Coal deposits, reserves & production 4.6: Global coal resources & reserves 4.7: Coal combustion & emissions 4.8: Alternative uses of coal 4.9: Carbon sequestration & clean coal |
Links & items of interest:
Coal: past, present and future
> Earth Observatory: flattening of WV, 1984 - 2015
> EPA to roll back a restriction on new coal-burning plants (Friedman, New York Times, 4 Dec 2018)
> More than 4,000 MW of coal power slated for closure in Texas. But Why? (Geuss, Ars Technica, 16 Oct 2017)
> Why the symbolism behind coal is still so powerful (Thompson, Mother Jones, 23 Sep 2017)
> In a stunning turnaround, Britain moves to end the burning of coal (Pearce, Yale E360, 18 Sep 2017)
> How Trump can save coal - with China's help (Bledsoe, Politico, 6 Aug 2107)
> In a blow to 'clean coal', flawed plant will burn natural gas (Fountain, NYTimes, 28 Jun 2017)
> Fact check: Is President Trump correct that coal mines are opening? (Frazier, NPR, 2 Jun 2017)
> UK has the first coal-free power day since the industrial revolution (Anthony, Ars Technica, 24 Apr 2017)
> Climate-friendly coal technology works, but is proving difficult to scale up (Brady, NPR, 29 Mar 2017)
> China cancels 103 coal plants, mindful of smog and wasted capacity (Forsythe, NY Times, 18 Jan 2017)
> Underground coal gasification will not go ahead in the UK (Vaughan, Guardian, 8 Dec 2016)
> Short answers to hard questions about clean coal technology (Urbina, NYTimes, 5 Jul 2016)
> The land of mountaintop removal (Smithsonian, 5 Aug 2013)
> TED VIDEO: The human and environmental effects of our hunger for coal (Caskey, TEDx, 2012)
> Dirty coal, clean future (Fallows, The Atlantic, Dec 2010)
> The rape of Appalachia (Shnayerson, Vanity Fair, May 2006)
Coal: past, present and future
> Earth Observatory: flattening of WV, 1984 - 2015
> EPA to roll back a restriction on new coal-burning plants (Friedman, New York Times, 4 Dec 2018)
> More than 4,000 MW of coal power slated for closure in Texas. But Why? (Geuss, Ars Technica, 16 Oct 2017)
> Why the symbolism behind coal is still so powerful (Thompson, Mother Jones, 23 Sep 2017)
> In a stunning turnaround, Britain moves to end the burning of coal (Pearce, Yale E360, 18 Sep 2017)
> How Trump can save coal - with China's help (Bledsoe, Politico, 6 Aug 2107)
> In a blow to 'clean coal', flawed plant will burn natural gas (Fountain, NYTimes, 28 Jun 2017)
> Fact check: Is President Trump correct that coal mines are opening? (Frazier, NPR, 2 Jun 2017)
> UK has the first coal-free power day since the industrial revolution (Anthony, Ars Technica, 24 Apr 2017)
> Climate-friendly coal technology works, but is proving difficult to scale up (Brady, NPR, 29 Mar 2017)
> China cancels 103 coal plants, mindful of smog and wasted capacity (Forsythe, NY Times, 18 Jan 2017)
> Underground coal gasification will not go ahead in the UK (Vaughan, Guardian, 8 Dec 2016)
> Short answers to hard questions about clean coal technology (Urbina, NYTimes, 5 Jul 2016)
> The land of mountaintop removal (Smithsonian, 5 Aug 2013)
> TED VIDEO: The human and environmental effects of our hunger for coal (Caskey, TEDx, 2012)
> Dirty coal, clean future (Fallows, The Atlantic, Dec 2010)
> The rape of Appalachia (Shnayerson, Vanity Fair, May 2006)
Carbon capture & sequestration (storage)
> Efficient CO2 utilization via a hybrid Na-CO2 system based on CO2 dissolution (Kim et al., iScience, Nov
2018)
> Can carbon dioxide removal save the world? (Kolbert, The New Yorker, 20 Nov 2017)
> Carbon capture and sequestration technologies at MIT
> Blue Carbon Lab: sequestration in the wetlands
> Efficient CO2 utilization via a hybrid Na-CO2 system based on CO2 dissolution (Kim et al., iScience, Nov
2018)
> Can carbon dioxide removal save the world? (Kolbert, The New Yorker, 20 Nov 2017)
> Carbon capture and sequestration technologies at MIT
> Blue Carbon Lab: sequestration in the wetlands