Opinion Letter: Using Coal Opinion Letter: Using Coal By Zelie, 6th Grader Have you ever thought that one day, the coal that we use every day in our daily lives will disappear? It will be extinct? That’s a fact, and to save our “precious”, and “beloved” coal, there’s only one thing that can start that process. Another source of electricity. And only that will change the world, because anything can be better than coal. Everyone would benefit from a renewable source of energy that doesn’t pollute our air. Power plants are the best way of keeping our planet safe and our air clean. To begin with, fossil fuel, a substance made from plant material that was buried millions of years ago, is a nonrenewable resource. This means there is a limited amount of it, and when there will be no more if it, it would take us years to find something new and stabilize that new kind electricity around the world. But, however, Sun and wind will never run out. Yes, and maybe that many people argue and say “Yeah, but coal is cheaper and easier to use!” But do you really think it is better to have a cheaper source of energy or a nonrenewable resource that will one day be a huge problem for our world when it will run out? No! (pg. 13) Second, coal can also cause environmental problems. Environment is the surrounding earth, air, and water. Since we find coal under the Earth’s surface, it must be mined or taken out of the ground. Some surface mines remove entire mountain tops and deposit the extra material into the valleys. This dramatically changes the landscape and can one day cause huge damage to our poor Earth! Many people think it isn’t a HUGE problem, but it is! If we keep this up, we will lose huge chunks of mountains and nobody wants to see Mount Everest or volcanos and hills get whipped out from our world! (pg. 13) Also, surface mines release a small amount of methane. This causes emission, gas, dust, smoke, and other substances that can damage the environment. This greenhouse gas is bad for the environment. Miners travel underground in trains or elevators to reach the coal deposit. They release much more methane and that contributes about 9% of the total methane released in the United States. Also, working underground mines can be very dangerous and unhealthy for the miners since it releases several pollutants in the air. (pg. 13 & 14) Nobody wants higher causes of sickness or even death! This pollutant can also cause acid rain which is terrible for our environment and nature because it can give us contaminated water even with filters, it can pollute fertile land which makes plants grow slower than usual, and most of all, it gives unhealthy water to fish and animals, which eat and digest. In conclusion, using another kind of electricity source would be much better than the unhealthy, methane releasing, nonrenewable coal. It would cause a lot less pollutant fogs and environmental damage to our Earth that has suffered too much already. Have you ever thought of how coal will one day disappear from the world? Well, you should probably think it over once or twice and maybe, one day, the health problems in our world may lower a lot, thanks to having a healthier and safer, renewable energy.
