The Five Best Arguments for Coal (And why they’re still really, really bad.)
The Industrial Revolution was an exciting time when we in the UK were still dying from cholera and typhoid, not letting women vote, and really getting into burning coal for power.
You might think that in these more enlightened times, there wouldn’t be much argument that, just like typhoid, burning coal is a pretty bad idea. But actually, there are plenty of people out there who still insist that it’s absolutely the way forward. Here’s thecoalhole’s quick rundown of the 5 ‘best’ arguments for coal.
5. The coal industry provides employment
At the moment, the coal industry in the UK employs 5,600 people, about 1,600 in opencast mines like Ffos-y-Fran.
But hang on - according the Government Britain’s going to become a world leader in clean technologies, like wind power and wave power - let’s face it, our windy, wet island has a lot of potential. Hey, perhaps being a world leader in clean technologies would mean you’d be able to employ some people in the renewable sector? Germany’s an interesting example - over the past 6 years, they’ve created 250,000 jobs in the environmental engineering sector - so-called ‘green collar’ jobs. Surely we could be doing the same? Even the back of the fag packet calculation I’d be able to do if I smoked suggests we’d be up, er, 244,400 jobs.
4. Oil is going to run out - but we’ve got lots of coal!
Conventional wisdom goes that while we’ve probably got limited amounts of oil left (oil companies themselves guess between 10 and 30 years until we reach maximum global production, and it’s all downhill from there) - there’s enough coal kicking around to comfortably power us well into the dim and distant future. Great!
Great, except, if we burn even a small percentage of that coal, we will quickly push the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere up to levels best described as ‘very dangerous’, trigger climate feedbacks like ice sheets melting which will further accelerate the cooking of the planet, raise the average temperature of the planet by 4, 5 or 6 degrees, kill, displace or drown a good chunk of the World’s population, and there won’t be a future, or at least not one you’d much want to be around in. Next!
3. If we don’t burn coal, there’s going to be an energy gap!
If we can’t provide all the electricity that we need and demand is bigger than supply, we fall into the energy gap. The energy gap - sounds pretty bad, right? If we don’t build new coal and nuclear power stations, our hospitals will have no power, the country will be plunged into darkness, and small children will start crying.
Except, when you look at the government’s own statistics and predictions, you see the following:
- Amount electricity generating capacity reduces by 2027 from closing old coal and nuclear power stations: 35%
- Amount of energy Gordon Brown has said we will generate from renewable sources by 2020: 40%
So that means that according to the government, we’re 5% up, 7 years before there’s a problem! If they actually deliver on their own policies, there is no energy gap. Hmmm.
2. If we don’t use coal, China will…
Stop us if you’ve heard this one before. If we don’t dig it up in Wales, someone will dig it up in China, and then they’ll ship it here, and that’ll be even worse for the environment!
It’s a funny argument. It’s kind of like saying: Let’s employ children in factories in Britain - because, let’s face it, if we don’t, they will in Malaysia, and then we’ll still have to ship those trainers all the way to the UK, and think of the carbon emissions!
The problem is this. We can’t afford to keep burning coal as a planet - that means us, the Estonians, the Cubans, the Chinese. Climate change is a global problem, and burning the most polluting fossil fuel anywhere will make it worse.
Gordon Brown is fond of talking about the UK becoming a “world leader” on climate issues. The way to become a world leader is to act like one - phasing out fossil fuels, plowing investment into renewable technologies like wind and wave power (creating a load of jobs and energy security in the process), and generally getting our act together. Otherwise, why should the likes of China listen to us? In fact, if we weren’t so obsessed about what an awful environmental record China has, we might have noticed that in the past year, China installed more renewable energy capacity than the UK has ever installed!
1. Carbon capture and storage will save us.
Ah, Carbon Capture and Storage. Always the bridesmaid, never the bride. Well, not quite. In fact, Carbon Capture and Storage didn’t even make it to the wedding, she’s about eighty thousand miles away, it’s going to take her about twenty years to get here if she ever does, and if she ever does, she’ll forget her lines, trip over her dress, eat all the cake, throw up on the dancefloor and generally be completely useless. Worst of all, she’s got no interest in men whatsoever, because she’s been chatted up by the likes of Gordon Brown and John Hutton, and let’s face it, a girl can do better.
So, is that the best the coal cheerleaders can do?
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