Coal: Did You Know?

The world enjoys many options to fuel electrical power plants. Coal is one, but brings with it horrific environmental and health impacts. Entire mountaintops are removed to mine coal. Burning coal spews an abundance of environmentally harmful emissions into the atmosphere – far more than oil or natural gas.

Burning coal also produces chemicals that react in the atmosphere to form sulfuric acid, the key component of acid rain, which pollutes water, kills marine life, and devastates plant life. The ash produced from burning coal is collected in ponds, and contaminates nearby surface and ground water.

Even worse, the dams on these ponds can burst and overflow, pouring toxic sludge into rivers and even neighborhoods. If we wish a healthy planet while meeting the world’s demand for electricity, coal is the wrong answer.