The Sustainability of Coal

Paper Summary:

The paper explores whether or not coal power can ever become a sustainable technology. The paper defines sustainability and explains that although coal power plants pollute the atmosphere, new technologies have made the idea of environmentally responsible coal power plants a possibility. The paper concludes that the use of coal in hyper-efficient gasification plants seems to be a viable, sustainable option.

From the Paper:

"First we must articulate a conception of sustainability, a definition if you will. Conclusions about coal's sustainability will be largely arbitrary unless we establish from the outset a clear sense of what it means to be sustainable. This will provide the framework with which coal's potential to be a sustainable option can be evaluated. It is naive to think that sustainability is defined as an either-or proposition. Too often, definitions of sustainability imagine that a process, technology, or ideology is either sustainable or it is not."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Brown, Lester. "Coal: The United States Promotes While Canada and Europe Move Beyond." The Humanist 64.2 (March-April 2004): 34-35.
• "Minnesota Puts Its Weight Behind Coal Gasification." Power Engineering 107.7 (July 2003): 10.
• Viswanathan, R. "Materials Technology for Coal-Fired Power Plants." Advanced Materials & Processes 162.8 (Aug. 2004): 73-76.

More papers on The Sustainability of Coal:

• Analytical Essay # 130943 : "The Coming Age of Coal in Electricity Production"
• Analytical Essay # 130410 : "Coal and Energy Production"
• Research Proposal # 99938 : "Coal as an Energy Source"

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