“The most destructive type of coal mining, known as mountaintop removal coal mining, a coal company literally blasts apart the tops of mountains to reach thin seams of coal buried below and then, to minimize waste disposal costs, dumps millions of tons of waste rock into the valleys and streams below, causing permanent damage to the ecosystem and landscape. The destructive practice has damaged or destroyed approximately 1,200 miles of streams, disrupted drinking water supplies” (such as aquifers, groundwater, etc.) “flooded communities, destroyed homes, eliminated forests, and jeopardizes tourism and recreation.”

“Coal mining is a major source of water pollution, causing acid mine drainage which occurs when abandoned mines fill with water that mixes with heavy metals and then leaks into groundwater and streams. Coal preparation, or “washing,” also causes water pollution when chemicals and water are used to separate impurities from mined coal. Up to 90 million gallons of coal preparation slurry are produced every year in the impoundments. Impoundments leak into local water supplies and can even burst dramatically, sending millions of gallons of waste barreling down in mudflows and destroying property and lives.”

“Coal-fired power plants are one of the largest sources of air pollution in the United States. Particle pollution, or soot, is one of the most deadly types of air pollution in our country. Soot can trigger heart attacks and strokes, worsen asthma, cause irregular heart-beats, and lead to premature death. The damages from particle pollution continue after it has settled to the ground, where it causes acidification of waters, soil nutrient depletion, and destruction of forests and crops.”

“Coal-fired power plants are also one of the largest contributors to smog in the nation. In addition to health effects like increased risk of asthma attacks, permanent lung damage, and premature death, smog also harms plants and trees. Persistent smog pollution can alter and disrupt plant growth overtime, leading to an estimated $500 million loss due t reduced crop production in the U.S. every year.”

“Coal-fired power plants emit large quantities of toxic air pollutants such as lead and arsenic, and are one of the largest sources of man-made mercury pollution in the U.S. Mercury, which enters our food chain after it rains down into our streams and lakes, poisons fish and seafood, and accumulates in the animals and people who eat them. Mercury pollution causes brain damage, mental retardation, and other developmental problems in unborn children and infants, and has been linked to a greater risk of coronary heart disease in men. The mercury problem in the U.S. is so widespread that every year one in six women of childbearing age has mercury levels in her blood high enough to put her baby at risk.”

“Burning coal for electricity also creates several different types of liquid and solid wastes that are known collectively as coal combustion wastes. Taken together, the amount of coal combustion wastes produced is staggering; more than 120 million solid tons every year. This waste alone is enough to fill a million rail cars every year, or a train that is 9600 miles long. Not only is it challenging to find a place to store so much coal combustion waste safely, but even after it is stored coal combustion waste can leak out and pollute the surrounding environment and ground water. Containing elements like lead, mercury, and arsenic in toxic doses, coal combustion wastes and their pollution have been shown to cause illness and death in plants and animals. In humans, where the greatest exposure risk is from polluted ground water and drinking water, the toxins have been linked to organ disease, increased cancer, respiratory illness, neurological damage, and developmental problems.”

“The supposedly “clean coal” technologies that have attracted the most attention in recent years are carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) and Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC). As of now, CCS remains an unproven technology, and experts disagree as to how long it will take for this technology to be available for commercial and wide-scale use. IGCC unfortunately emits just as much pollution as other coal plants. The coal industry is also pushing liquid coal as a clean alternative, yet liquid coal creates almost double the carbon dioxide emissions per gallon as regular gasoline, and replacing just ten percent of our nations’ fuel with it would require a more than 40% increase in coal mining.”

“On average, our country consumes more than three million tons of coal every day or about twenty pounds of coal for every person in the nation every day of the year. We can reduce our dependence on coal by increasing efficiency and relying more on clean energy power-like wind and solar, and we can minimize the damage coal causes by insuring it is mined responsibly and burned cleanly.”