Big Coal: The Dirty Secret Behind America's Energy Future

Book Description

President Bush has said coal is America's "economic destiny." Despite a century-long legacy that has claimed millions of lives and ravaged the environment, why has coal become hot again? Few of us realize that coal already supplies more than half the energy needed to power our iPods, laptops, lightsanything we use that consumes electricity. Every time we flip on a switch, we burn a lump of coal. Our desire to find a homegrown alternative to Mideast oil, the rising cost of oil and natural gas, and the fossil fuelfriendly mood in Washington will soon push our coal consumption through the roof. Because we have failed to develop alternative energy sources, coal has become the default fuel for the twenty-first century. In the tradition of Rachel Carson and Eric Schlosser, the veteran journalist Jeff Goodell examines the faulty assumptions underlying coal's revival and shatters the myth of cheap coal energy. In a compelling blend of hard-hitting investigative reporting, history, and business analysis, Big Coal illuminates the stark economic imperatives America faces and the collusion of business and politics that has already set us on the dangerous course. Filled with troubling environmental and health revelations, Big Coal shows us that our shiny white iPod economy is propped up by dirty black rocks.

Customer Reviews:

The truth about coal.......2007-10-07

Jeff Goodall does a spectacular job of explaining the effects of coal on real people's lives. Although a journalist, and not specifically a scientist, he does a thorough and professional job of unearthing startling facts about Big Coal and debunking myths. He spent years researching his subject and has done an superlative job in laying out the facts in an accessible and honest way. For anyone who has questions about the effects of Big Coal on America and the world, and wants the facts told with heart and intelligence, this is the one to read.

Cool thinking about a hot topic.......2007-09-14

Right from the start, when author Jeff Goodell discusses daily life around a coal extraction site in Wyoming, "Big Coal" is a captivating look at a subject that is seemingly as ordinary...as a lump of coal. Goodell knows his subject. He has witnessed coal mining operations in West Virginia, Wyoming and China. He has interviewed government officials, regulators, environmentalists, mine operators and the miners themselves. He has witnessed the devastation of strip mining and spoken to people whose land is literally washing away from them. He has spoken to those whose livelihoods are dependent on coal, and who even get a thrill from pitting their lives against Mother Nature. He has detonated explosives that exposed coal seams, accompanied inspectors worriedly checking excavation sites for potentially-fatal weak spots and ridden the rails with those who transport coal across the country.

"Big Coal" details the thrills and dangers of mining, an occupation that has cost 100,000 lives since 1900. It discusses the geological forces that laid down the coal beds, the differences between grades of coal like bituminous and anthracite and the historical personalities that bequeathed us our power system. He tackles tough issues -- like the efforts to control their entry of coal by-products mercury and sulfur into the environment. He is not afraid to tell it like it is. To the current administration's contention that there are 250 years of coal in the ground (250 million years in the words of George W. Bush), Goodell counters with studies that show that fewer than 20 years' worth of that coal that is *economically* extractable. Goodell analyzes the devastating impact of burning carbon-rich coal on the global environment. CO2 being a greenhouse gas with enormous impact on climactic warming trends. Goodell lays out a compelling case for the folly of building more and more plants that belch more of the stuff into the atmosphere. Goodell details the way Big Coal ignores and fights this long range problem for short-term profit. Most depressingly, he relates the political enablers that allow Big Coal to persuade Americans that polluting their streams and wrecking their children's environment is good for them. He discusses the way foreign juggernauts like China and India are beginning to repeat America's coal-centered mistakes in their quest to become world economic leaders, and the decreasing leverage that a coal-hungry America has to counter this threat.

The last third of the book was the hardest to read. It described the political expediency and pure greed that induces the coal lobby and US politicians to ignore, minimize and paper over the true costs of burning coal. Easy, low-cost solutions that can reduce coal's effect on the environment are put off as long as possible so coal execs can get a few more years of profits from the black rock. The public is misled to keep shareholders happy and politicians in office. This section caused me to put the book down out of frustration with our greed-drive political system.

But do not despair. "Big Coal" lays out the entire complex picture of coal and the industry required to harvest and exploit it. The book is not an attempt to destroy the coal industry or to destroy America's technological leadership. It is a clear-eyed and straightforward assessment of a difficult and complex reality. Reading the book will help you understand the many facets of the way that coal keeps the global economy running and that will (without adequate protections) land us in a world of hurt. Goodell's even-handed and comprehensive appraisal of the issues that fuel the coal controversy may make him seem biased in the eyes of some. And he is biased, if by this one means that he values clean air and land, a future free of climate change and live miners living to healthy old age with their families. But he is always fully truthful.

"Big Coal" will help you understand the issues -- technological, political, moral and economical-- to be tied to getting our power from coal. The Black Rock employs tens of thousands, allows millions to live in luxury and enables our nation's technological success. Yet it poisons our children, warms our planet and takes or shortens the lives of hundreds of thousands. I appreciated "Big Coal" for its ability to lay out the facts without the smog of industry and political obfuscation that usually accompanies their telling. An excellent, quite readable and educational book.

Big Coal.......2007-09-10

This book reads with enormous clarity and logic. It's better than a good fiction novel, and much of what Mr. Goodell has warned the country about did come to pass shortly after the book was printed. To understand America today and its energy policies, to understand the corruption and manipulation and political cronyism behind the scenes as our government deals with corporate power and big coal, to understand possible solutions, buy this book! It's a must read for any American citizen who has spent day after day hearing the recent and tragic news stories concerning our Utah miners. It's a prescient book. It will inform you as a voter and a citizen. And, it is soooooooo lucid and easy to read.

How and Why We Are Using a 19th Century Fuel in the 21st Century.......2007-08-21

Although this was in my library for some time, I decided to read it now due to the mining accidents in Utah and China. I was hoping it might shed some light on why the number of mining accidents seems to be increasing, which it did. It also provided a host of other information about coal and the companies that mine and burn coal that was fascinating.

From mountain top removal mining, to reverse mining to open pit mining, the author covers how coal is mined in detail. He also looks at the economics of coal in tunneled mines versus strip mines and why West Virginia and surrounding areas are so poorly compensated for the work they do. It was amazing to see the mine operator's comments in Utah on the news, while reading his previous statements that were detailed in the book. It became quite obvious that his interests in the miners trapped in Utah were more economic than true sympathy for the miners or their families.

The second section deals with the burning of coal, and why it is so well loved by utilities. Basically, coal burned in older generation plants is a license to print money and the coal and utility companies are fully aware of the damage done, but put profits ahead of anything and everything. Further, the author details the obstructionist techniques used by these companies to keep coal going as a fuel.

In the final section, the author details the damage being done by coal to the environment, as well as to humans who live downwind from the plants. He also looks at various solutions that could be employed today to make cola a much cleaner burning fuel and how this would affect the costs of electricity. He also ventures to China to see what they are doing about carbon releases and how we are helping to cause the massive build up of coal fired plants in Chine with our purchasing habits.

This is a wonderful book that will answer almost any question you would have about the mining and burning of coal and why we are still using a 19th century fuel in the 21st century. It is very readable and should be read by every individual with a connection to the electric grid. My only complaint is in how the book was foot noted. No foot notes were present in the text, making it hard to line up the text with the notes at the end of the book.

Greed, Guilt, Anger and Not Knowing When it is Too Late.......2007-08-19

This book starts with "The Dig" describing in detail the actual mining of coal and what this does to the environment, homeowners around digs, how miners are treated and the transportation of coal (exploitation of the railroads/only thing good about this is the railroads kick the coal business in the butt when Big Coal is used to doing the kicking (to consumers/environmentalists/miners and the few politicians who aren't in their pockets and actually care about enforcing pollution standards). The bad thing is higher prices for consumers held hostage by 2 bandits - the railroads and coal industry. Next is "The Burn" about the politics of coal and the constant finagling of putting off pollution control standards and the corruptness of the EPA (government employees appointed to the EPA from the coal industry, wreck havoc, and return to the coal industry) and health of people especially young (ex. asthma/mercury). It addresses how the industry deals with mercury, heavy metals, air pollution, water pollution and destruction of the land (or not). Last is The Heat" chapter which addresses global warming and what the electric (utility) companies are doing to "meet or not meet this formidable challenge". Why is ANY of this happening when there is a simple fix for most of it? Ban anyone from working in the EPA who worked in the coal/energy industry (including as a lobbyist) in the last 10 years from being appointed/hired to the EPA. Ban anyone from working in the EPA if any of their immediate family works for Big Coal. Ban anyone currently working for the EPA from working in the coal industry (including as a lobbyist) for 10 years AFTER they leave the EPA and that includes their immediate family members. If whoever is hired to work in the EPA (biologist/teacher/MBA, physician, lawyer, plumber, nurse, etc) needs to understand a particularly complicated piece, he can ASK the Big Coal industry and others outside Big Coal for that specific answer. QUIT relying on the present big coal/energy companies (throw in auto industry/gasoline here also) to come up with a solution to finding alternate energy sources. The blacksmith did NOT invent the automobile, travel agents did NOT invent Orbitz.com and the U.S. postal office did not invent e-mail. The government should dig through their patent computer (use city (not government) librarians to do this and ensure the research/dig salary monies go directly into the city library fund and not the city coffers. The patent website is on-line so the librarian doesn't even have to travel. ANY patent dealing with energy that hasn't been ACTIVELY (define it so there is no wiggle room) worked on in 2 years, let this patent become public property and announce it on the internet. Change the U.S. patent law to make this so but also address the patent laws of other countries if they have any and have them change theirs also so the U.S. is not at a disadvantage. The whole world needs to solve this mess. This book was a fantastic read because of its in-depth coverage of the entire problem. Although it addresses mostly the United States coal industry, China and India aren't forgotten either although the author seems to think the U.S. should pay a higher price upfront by having to implement stricter pollution standards for us now and allow China and India more time to foul the air/water before they would fall under the same pollution guidelines. Read this book. You will learn much but won't sleep much. Sleep will evade you due to anger at the greed of the Big Coal industry, corruptness of politicians in bed with Big Coal, EPA nepotism, EPA turning its back on U.S. citizens whose lands and health are being destroyed by Big Coal (similar to asbestos) and even a little at yourself because you want to turn on your AC but at a cheap price. Guilt will eat at you for forgetting to turn off your TV when you went to bed or for even having 2 or 3 TVs and because want to forget about all this when you close this book but in the back of your mind you know it isn't going away and it will get worse for you but especially for your children. Anger because we as citizens of the United States of America are complacent in allowing our government officials who are supposed to work for us (should be finding new ways to turn on our AC and make/enforce pollution standards) to instead be controlled by these Big Coal businesses whose only goal is to work for their stockholders. Anger because at local/state level all we can do is vote them out of office and guilt because we don't vote or care to research who we are voting for. You won't sleep because of worry over the health of our children from Big Coal pollutants which can be stopped/reduced but aren't (even if you don't believe in Global Warming and all those associated hazards, the air/land/water pollution and land stripping are still there) and finally worry over the condition of the U.S. and the world environment we will leaving our children and grandchildren once the mountains are stripped off, the land blown/dug up and the air/land/water fouled because the United States of America with all it's strength is too weak to put it foot down on Big Coal (throw in gasoline here as well) and throw its weight and subsidies at the small inventers not working for the coal/energy industry in any way (think Edison/Wright Brothers) and don't give the coal industry any of these subsidies because they will not work to make themselves obsolete but just try to reinvent the same wheel. I have faith in the individual person to find a solution not big business and not big government. When you read this book you will be filled with despair but also hope because it can be corrected if we want it to be. Sleeplessness will come because of fear of going the wrong way or not acting fast enough once the right way is found and it will be too late. The worst part is not knowing when too late is. Only God knows that.

Essentials of Modern Open-Hole Log Interpretation

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Basics for log interpretation
The Bible of Open-Hole Log Interpretation

Essentials of Modern Open-Hole Log Interpretation
John T. Dewan
Manufacturer: Pennwell Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0878142339

Customer Reviews:

Basics for log interpretation.......2007-05-29

All the basics for log interpretation are in this book. No new tools but essential to learn or review the basic concepts.

The Bible of Open-Hole Log Interpretation.......2000-09-28

This book is an exhaustive work on open-hole logging. Mr. Dewan has years of experience in this field, and has won numerous awards for his work, including a lifetime achievement award from SPLWA. He has travelled the world over, teaching courses to students in the oil industry. Mr. Dewan's unique and considerable experience shines through this book, written in a easily understood fashion to accomdate a wider audience.

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The original fossil fuel
Excellent Read!
Very informative, easy read but...
Center-left analysis of coal
Coal's role in chemisty neglected

Coal: A Human History
Barbara Freese
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0142000981
Release Date: 2004-01-27

Book Description

In this remarkable book, Barbara Freese takes us on a rich historical journey that begins hundreds of millions of years ago and spans the globe. Prized as “the best stone in Britain” by Roman invaders who carved jewelry out of it, coal has transformed societies, expanded frontiers, and sparked social movements, and still powers our electric grid. Yet coal's world-changing power has come at a tremendous price, including centuries of blackening our skies and lungs—and now the dangerous warming of our global climate. Ranging from the “great stinking fogs” of London to the rat-infested coal mines of Pennsylvania, from the impoverished slums of Manchester to the toxic streets of Beijing, Coal is a captivating narrative about an ordinary substance with an extraordinary impact on human civilization.

Customer Reviews:

The original fossil fuel.......2007-01-15

The story of a fossil fuel that still generates most of the world's (and the United States') electricity. It is much less flexible than oil, and much less (retro-)futuristic than uranium, produces a lot of air pollution (she has an early-20th-century photograph of a child afflicted with rickets, due to lack of sunlight exposure because of air pollution), yet unlike with oil and uranium, we aren't about to run out of it any time soon. Everybody wishes we could replace coal with renewable energy, but we just cannot generate as much electricity with renewables, however earnestly we might wish it. Read Energy at the Crossroads by Vaclav Smil for a far more serious treatment of the future of fossil and nonfossil fuels.

Excellent Read!.......2006-08-02

With todays concerns regarding energy, and the switch from oil to alternative fuels, this book provides how it felt when the use coal had reached its peak in the 19th century and oil began to replace coal as a cleaner, more efficient alternative fuel source.

The book was well written, and gave a timeline of coals inception as an energy source, and the ill-effects experienced by society as a result of its use. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in non-fiction.

Very informative, easy read but..........2006-01-15

she did neglect (or didn't realize) to mention that the bloody Nazi bums under Hitler used coal to fly their airplanes in WW2! I hate coal because those Nazi swine used it in lieu of oil for plane fuel.

Center-left analysis of coal.......2005-10-27

This book is a good introduction to the history of coal and issues surrounding its use. It's not an extensive history of all of its uses as other reviewers have observed and the author's credentials as an enviromental lawyer let you know which side of the fence she stands on. However, she makes a good try at presenting a balanced viewpoint, and usually succeeds. The book is very readable, and for anyone with an interest in energy issues, it should be entertaining.

Coal's role in chemisty neglected.......2005-09-07

I found this book to be well-written in a literary sense. While correctly critical of coal where justified, Freese does not descend into partisan polemic and cliche when discussing difficult issues.

The book covers nearly all the major issues that coal has faced over the centuries - including the little-recognised fact that Europe went through an energy crisis as forests were depleted before coal came into widespread use hundreds of years ago.

However, I was surprised that Freese did not cover the major role that coal played in the development of organic chemical industries based on coal liquids in the 19th century.

We owe synthetic dyes and major advances in the understanding of organic chemistry to coal liquid by-products of coke and gas making in the 19th century.

Solvents such as benzene were also first made from coal tars.

The misuse of these chemicals also led to major advances in the understanding of occupational health and epidemiology - some of the most significant medical advances of the 20th century.

Atlas of Coal Geology: Coal Geology and Coal Petrology

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Atlas of Coal Geology: Coal Geology and Coal Petrology

Manufacturer: Amer Assn of Petroleum Geologists
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0891811419

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Coal Geology
Larry Thomas
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0471485314

Book Description

Coal Geology provides a complete integrated handbook on coal and all its properties, covering the physical and chemical properties of coal as well as coal petrology. It describes the age and occurence of coal; coal sampling and analysis; coal exploration; geophysics and hydrogeology of coal and coal mining techniques. It also discusses environmental concerns and computer technology, and includes an update on global coal reserves and production figures.

First reference book to cover all aspects of coal geology in one volume
Includes current thinking on environmental issues
Presents a useful synopsis of the alternative uses of coal as a fuel
Contains the distribution and reserves of coal deposits worldwide
Offers a summary of the use of computing in coal studies, as well as coal sales and marketing opportunities
Includes International Standards listings

This up-to-date handbook successfully bridges the gap between academic aspects of coal geology and the practical role of geology in the coal industry and will be invaluable for all professionals and students in coal geology, geotechnical and mining engineering, and environmental science.

Book Description

Thoroughly rewritten and updated to reflect advances in technology, this work highlights the environmental aspects now being emphasized within the coal industry. It provides an overview of coal science, covering topics ranging from the origins of coal to mining and contemporary uses.

The Structure and Reaction Processes of Coal (The Plenum Chemical Engineering Series)

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The Structure and Reaction Processes of Coal (The Plenum Chemical Engineering Series)
K.Lee Smith , L.Douglas Smoot , Thomas H. Fletcher , and Ronald J. Pugmire
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0306446022

Book Description

Founded on the work of the renowned Advanced Combustion Engineering Research Center, the authors document and integrate current knowledge of the organic and inorganic structure of coal and its reaction processes. With the urgent need for cleaner, more efficient use of this worldwide fuel, their work will set a clear course for future research.

Remediation of Abandoned Surface Coal Mining Sites: A NATO-Project (Environmental Science and Engineering / Environmental Engineering)

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Remediation of Abandoned Surface Coal Mining Sites: A NATO-Project (Environmental Science and Engineering / Environmental Engineering)

Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 354042539X

Book Description

The book describes the current state of former opencast mines in six countries. The remediation and reclamation of abandoned opencast mines are considered as a chance for new sustainable ecological, sociological and cultural developments in the regions concerned. The examples quoted from different countries allow the results of different remediation strategies to be compared. By way of conclusion, some recommendations are given at the end.

Terrigenous Clastic Depositional Systems: Applications to Petroleum, Coal, and Uranium Exploration

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Too much information
The only textbook I intend to sell back

Terrigenous Clastic Depositional Systems: Applications to Petroleum, Coal, and Uranium Exploration
W. E. Galloway , and D. K. Hobday
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0387908277

Book Description

This second edition of Terrigenous Clastic Depositional Systems bridges the gap between process-related outcrop studies of sedimentary rocks and the three-dimensional subsurface world of the mineral fuel geologist and hydrogeologist. It remains unique in its focus on the application of subsurface facies analysis to problems of petroleum, coal, uranium, and ground water resource discovery, delineation, and production. The text and figures have been rewritten and updated. New chapters summarize applications of sequence stratigraphy to facies analysis and the use of detailed facies interpretation in reservoir and aquifer characterization.

Customer Reviews:

Too much information.......2001-02-04

This is a book packed full of information. Each chapter could be a single book, and that would help, expanding more on the ideas contained within.

The only textbook I intend to sell back.......2001-01-18

The lack of organization and lack of a glossary result in a poor textbook. Do not use this as your main source of info when trying to learn about depositional systems- much more understandable books exist.

Coal and Hydrocarbon Resources of North America (Icg Field Trip Series)

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Coal and Hydrocarbon Resources of North America (Icg Field Trip Series)

Manufacturer: Amer Geophysical Union
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0875906850

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