The recent tragedy in a coal mine in Turkey, causing the
death of more than 300 workers, put – one more time – the problems associated with
the mining activity under the spotlight.
Large scale energy generation will always be inevitably linked
to social and environmental impacts. Even the so-called “cleaner”
power production, like the hydropower, takes its toll over adjacent communities
and the overall ecosystem. A few alternatives of energy generation, like coal,
are so detrimental that it deserves our deepest concern and consternation. The
problem, however, is that the current insatiable appetite for energy doesn’t
leave much room for improvement.
Among all the fossil fuels, coal is – by far – the dirtiest
and – by all means – the cheapest. The planet burns eight billion tons of this
resource a year and 40 percent of the world’s electricity comes from
it.
Coal is responsible for 39 to 44 percent of the global CO2
emissions (in 2012, the world emitted 34.5 billion metric tons of carbon
dioxide from fossil fuels). The most worrisome information, though, is that the
world coal consumption keeps stubbornly moving up, mostly in emerging
industrialized countries, such as India and China. China alone increased its
consumption from 1.5 billion tons in 2000 to 3.8 billion tons in 2011.
Coal business causes enormous negative externalities, but no
one pays the monetary price for that: neither consumers, nor emitters. The
intangible price, however, is borne by the planet as a whole. Thousands of
people die a year in coal mines and various more perish due to polluted air.
Only in China, it is reported that the filthy air is linked to 1.2 million
deaths a year.
Mitigation alternatives, such as carbon capture and storage
(literally injecting it underground under conditions that deter leaks), can be such
a complex and costly process that no one expects it to be mandatory unless it
becomes financially viable.
Another serious issue is that work conditions on any regular
underground mine are extremely unsound and insalubrious per se. To make things worse, there are several mines around the
world that are not even regulated by local governments, subjecting workers to
all sorts of irregularities, including child labor, which causes profound
distress if we consider that work in such mines may diminish one’s
life expectancy. The ordinary work ambience in the underground is confined,
arduous, highly flammable and after a few years of exposure, workers are
commonly affected by a disease called pneumoconiosis, which derives from the
inhalation of poisonous gases and dust, that can be lethal.
Knowledge, technology and resources that could help making the
power generation business cleaner and safer abound. The only thing missing seems
to be good will to make them financially viable. Considering that the consequences
of persisting on the bad practices are global, it seems reasonable to address
the problem in a collective/global standpoint. The planet and their people ask
for help.
Sources:
- National Geographic Magazine, April 2014
- A Segurança em Minas de Carvão Agindo na Prevenção da
Pneumoconiose – Região Carbonífera de Santa Catarina http://www.bib.unesc.net/biblioteca/sumario/000028/000028C9.pdf
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