“From the industry's point of view, the problem is not that coal companies blast the top off mountains, turning the area into a moonscape and polluting the air and releasing toxic chemical into what's left of the local streams and aquifers. It's that the people who live near the mines are too cozy with their cousins.” PeopleProblemLeftViewsCompanyAirMinesIndustryMountainAreasPoint Of ViewLocalsStreamsChemicalsToxicCoalCousinBlastCozyToxic ChemicalsAquifers Author:Jeff Goodell
“We can decide that the presence of cancer-causing substances in our air, water, and food is too expensive. A 2009 study, for example, has found that coal miners in Appalachia costs the region five times more in premature deaths, including from cancer, than it provides to the region in jobs, taxes, and economic benefits. In California, the production and use of hazardous chemicals cost the state $2.6 billion in 2004 alone in lost wages and health-care expenses to treat workers and children with pollution-linked diseases.” ChildrenStatesUseCareJobsFoundLostWaterStudyFiveAirEconomicExampleCostTaxesDiseaseBenefitsTreatsEnvironmentalWorkersIncludingCancerProductionsBillionsHealth CareSubstanceCaliforniaExpensiveRegionsExpensesChemicalsPollutionWagesCoalLinkedPrematureMinersAppalachiaCoal MinersPremature Death Author:Sandra Steingraber
“Air is one we hold in common; it has a limited carrying capacity for pollutants and that's being used up by those who pollute the atmosphere. So we have to stop that externality. We would never allow a utility to put their coal slag in a dump truck and back it up to the city park and dump it in unlimited amounts for free. But that is exactly what we do with carbon dioxide and methane.” UsedCommonCitiesAirAmountCapacityAtmosphereParksCarbonUnlimitedCoalTruckUtilityDumpCarbon DioxideMethaneExternalitiesSlagCity Parks Author:Jay Inslee
“A new era has dawned in Ontario; one where the air will be cleaner and the multiple costs of coal-fired generation have become a distant memory. Atikokan's successful conversion to biomass will put Ontario on the world map as a leader in using this sustainable fuel source for electricity production.” WorldMemoriesLeaderSuccessfulGenerationsAirSourceCostProductionsConversionErasFuelMapsMultipleElectricityCoalCleanersNew EraOntarioBiomass Author:Bob Chiarelli
“Yes, I heard my people singing!-in the glow of parlor coal-stove and on summer porches sweet with lilac air, from choir loft and Sunday morning pews-and my soul was filled with their harmonies.” PeopleSoulMorningHeardAirSweetSummerSingingHarmonyFilledMy SoulSundayCoalChoirPorchStovesSunday MorningParlorLilac Book:Here I Stand Source: Here I Stand
“I'm old enough to remember when the air over American cities was a lot dirtier than it is now. You've probably never woken up early on a winter morning to the acid stink of coal smoke in the air, which was everywhere when I was a little kid. My grade school was heated with coal. Not only was coal used to generate electricity, it was without any scrubbers in the stacks.” LittlesEnoughKidsSchoolRememberUsedCitiesMorningAirWinterSmokeGradesElectricityCoalLittle KidRemember WhenAcidStinkUp EarlyGrades In SchoolAmerican CitiesWinter Morning Author:P. J. O'Rourke