According to the American Lung Association, “24,000 people a year die prematurely because of pollution from coal-fired power plants. And every year 38,000 heart attacks, 12,000 hospital admissions and an additional 550,000 asthma attacks result from power plant pollution.” Coal is the energy source used to produce most of the electricity in this country. When power-generating plants burn coal, their smoke stacks release particulates and gases into the atmosphere. These emissions include carbon dioxide (CO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and mercury, by-products of combustion that contribute to acid rain, that damages forests, lakes, buildings, and forms small airborne particles that can penetrate deep into the lungs. Also, smog causes asthma and other respiratory diseases because air and the water are polluted. With all of those present the greenhouse has a major effect as well. The environmental impact of widespread Western coal use for hundreds of years means that more coal use poses an especially serious problem to the global ecosystem. “The United Nations Environment Programmed (UNEP) has suggested strong limitations on coal use, but such limits reduce the capacity of many nations to purchase the power needed for industry.” Clean coal technology is a new generation of energy generating processes that seeks to reduce coal's negative environmental impact. It comprises multiple strategies to clean coal prior to combustion and reduce hazardous emissions. With America being dependent on coal, there should be an alternative way to handle the effects of coal.
