Started as part of "Natural Resource Awareness Days" a program done in conjunction with the Chamber of Commerce to educate school age children in our state and region on energy issues that affect our lives, VMA has prepared the following presentation on COAL and it's uses in Virginia and America. The members of the Virginia Mining Association hope the following information is helpful and informative to all ages.
:: THE COAL HARD FACTS
Where does Virginia's Electricity Come From?
- *Coal - 49%
- Nuclear - 42%
- Petroleum - 4%
- Gas - 3%
- Hydroelectric (Dams) - 0.4%
- Renewable (wind, etc.) - 0.001%
Where does America's Electricity Come From?
- *Coal - 56%
- Nuclear - 20%
- Gas - 10%
- Hydroelectric (Dams) - 10%
- Petroleum - 3%
- Renewable (wind, etc.) - 0.22%
Student project:
Surveys show that around 75% of the American public doesn't know where their electricity comes from or how it's produced.
Take your own survey or public opinion poll. Interview 20 people around your neighborhood. See if your results match the national average. If 15 people don't really know where or how their electricity is made this will match the national average. You may want to ask some of the suggested questions or come up with your own. Or do two or three different surveys and compare the results.
Possible questions to ask, use one or more in your survey:
Where does your electricity come from? Do you favor using: Electricity? Coal? Nuclear? Dams? Gas? Windmills? For your future energy needs. (This is a trick question and will reveal the knowledge of the individual being surveyed) How is the electricity that comes to your home made?
Feel free to make up your own questions theses are just to get you started.
:: THE COAL FAST FACTS
- Nearly 90% of the coal mined in the U.S. is used to generate electricity.
- By the year 2020 electrical consumption in America is expected to be 40% greater than today.
- Coal makes up 90% of the U.S. domestic energy reserve.
- Based on current consumption rates, of one billion tons per year, we have a 250-year supply of coal left within our boarders.
- The Internet uses 8% of the electricity generated in the U.S. When you add other information technology this rate jumps to 13%.
- A computer on average uses about 3 pounds of coal a day.
- Each person in American uses on average 33 pounds of coal per each day in the form of electricity.
- The population of the U.S. is expected to increase from 275 million to over 400 million in the next 50 years.
- The world population is expected to be over 7 ½ billion in the year 2020.
- The population of Virginia grew by one million in the 1990's.
Student question:
With all this population growth expected where do you think the energy to maintain our present high standard or quality of life will come from?
:: WHAT ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT AND COAL USE?
With new "clean coal technologies" being applied to coal fired power plants there have been great strides in making the combustion of coal to produce electrical generation cleaner.
Coal used by utilities has increased from 320 million tons in 1970 to 875 million tons in 1995. During this same period atmospheric levels of particulates from fossil fuel combustion dropped more than 60%.
How did that happen?
- Better cleaning of coal at preparation plants and mine sites.
- Using newly developed clean coal technology.
- Using more low sulfur coal like the kind found here in Southwest Virginia.
- Sometimes it is as simple as blending different types of coal with different sulfur contents.
- In 1970 utilities used 320 million tons of coal with emissions equaling 15.8 million tons.
- While in 1995 they used 875 million tons of coal and emitted 11.6 million tons of emissions.
|
|