Coal

vs. Solar

Teammates – Not Rivals

Tessa PiggCIS 100

01Z1May 2, 2010

For millions of years, a layer of dead plants at the bottom of the swamps was covered by layers of water and dirt, trapping the energy of the dead plants.

The heat and pressure from the top layers helped the plant remains turn into what we today call coal.

Where does coal come from?

Coal takes millions of years for the earth to create.

It is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock composed

mostly of carbon and hydrocarbons.

It is the most abundant fossil fuel produced in the United States

Coal is how old? The first documentation of coal was in 1748

There was 50 tons of coal dug

In its past life, coal had a variety of uses:Gas for Gas lightsDomestic heatingFuel for steam engines

In its early days, coal was mostly mined near cities

Production less than 200,000 tons

Coal has changed in many ways since 1748. The thing about coal that has

changed the most is safety and equipment.

♦ Two known types of coal mining:♦ Surface mining – above ground♦ Underground mining – below ground

♦ Production about 1 billion tons

Today's Coal

Coal & EmploymentCoal is the main source of our energy

needs in the United States so of course, it employees a lot of people.

Coal mines alone employee over 82,000 people.

Coal-fired plants employee over 60,000 people

Coal Transportation including train, car, and barge employees over 30,000 people

Clean Coal Technologies Coal is by far one of the dirtiest energy resources

available in the United States. Coal is as clean as it possibly can be today by what is

called “Clean Coal Technologies”. Clean Coal Technology seeks to reduce harsh effects

on the environment with various techniques.

Solar Energy Solar energy is energy that is obtained

from the suns rays.

This energy can be converted into different energy like heat and electricity. Heat can be used to heat water or heat spaces. For

example heating for houses, buildings, or even swimming pools.

Solar energy is converted in two ways: Photovoltaic (PV devices) or “solar cells” which

changes sunlight directly into electricity. Concentrating Solar Power Plants generate electricity

by using the heat from solar thermal collectors to heat a fluid which produces steam that is used to power the generator.

DOWNFALL OF SOLAR ENERGYSolar is definitely a cleaner source for our

environment but it has some drawbacks to it. Reliability: The amount of sunlight that

reaches the earth is not received in constant amounts. It is determined by location, time of day, time of year and the weather.

Surface Area: Since the amount of sunlight available isn't constant, the amount of surface area needed to collect the energy is very large.

My Coal & Solar Theory My theory about coal and solar working as one is

very simple and would benefit several people. We live our life with different types of everything, for example cars, homes, jobs, and personalities, so why would everyone have to use the same type of energy.

I do understand that coal is dirty but it is the most reliable source of the two. My theory is that we should be able to pick our source of energy and if we run out of coal, sure we can use all solar but I do not feel that we should eliminate one or the other.

Special Thanks To:

And several other coal mining support groups for keeping my lights on.

Sources: http://www.bydesign.com/fossilfuels/links/html/

coal/coal_history.html

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Coal_and_jobs_in_the_United_States#Coal-fired_power_plant_jobs

http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/kids/energy.cfm?page=coal_home-basics

http://science.howstuffworks.com/clean-coal.htm

Images: Google Search Results