End coal dependence

Consider the following numbers. Over the Industrial Age, mankind has burned about 500 gigatons of carbon in the forms of coal, oil and gas and this will cause the average temperature of the Earth to increase about 1.0 degree C. Science tells us that we cannot afford to allow the Earth’s temperature to increase more than 2.0 C (if not 1.5 C). Thus, we cannot afford to burn more than another 500 gigaton of carbon in the future.

Presently, the world’s reserves of gas and oil easily exceed 500 gigaton and likely even 700 gigatons. Thus, we cannot afford to use all of the world’s reserves of oil and gas. So why then would we choose to burn coal in the future given that coal provides only one-half as much energy per CO2 molecule emitted as do oil and gas, and also carries other pollutants such as mercury?

Sure, the reserves of coal in the U.S. alone are huge, several times that of global oil and gas, but that fact alone provides another reason why we must eliminate our dependence on coal. There is simply far too much of that cheap and dirty stuff about.

Eric Grimsrud

Liberty Lake