If your parents never had children, chances are you won't either.-- Dick Cavett –

COAL

COAL IS CLASSIFIED AS A SEDIMENTARY ROCK.

IT IS COMPOSED MOSTLY OF CARBON, WITH TRACES OF A FEW OTHER ELEMENTS, IN PARTICULAR, NITROGEN, OXYGEN, AND SULFUR.

COAL BEGAN AS PLANT MATERIAL THAT ACCUMULATED IN THE BOTTOMS OF SHALLOW SWAMPS.

THE MATERIAL WAS EVENTUALLY COVERED WITH MUD AND SEDIMENT.

AS IT WAS BURIED DEEPER, IT BEGAN ITS TRANSFORMATION TO COAL.

THE TRANSFORMATION OF COAL WOULD BE:

PEAT LIGNITE SUBBITUMINOUS BITUMINOUS ANTHRACITE

THE TRANSFORMATION OCCURS WHEN THE PLANT MATERIAL IS BURIED DEEPER AND HEATED TO HIGHER TEMPERATURES.

LIGNITE HAS 25 TO 35% CARBON AND A HIGH MOISTURE CONTENT. IT IS YOUNG COAL. ABOUT 7% OF THE U.S. COAL IS LIGNITE.

SUBBITUMINOUS HAS 35 TO 45% CARBON AND IS USUALLY AT LEAST 100 MILLION YEARS OLD. ABOUT 46% OF THE COAL MINED IN THE U.S. IS SUBBITUMINOUS.

BITUMINOUS COAL HAS ABOUT 45 TO 86% CARBON AND IS 100 TO 300 MILLION YEARS OLD. ABOUT HALF THE COAL MINED IN THE U.S. IS BITUMINOUS.

ANTHRACITE IS 85 TO 97% CARBON. LESS THAN 0.5% OF THE COAL MINED IN THE U.S. IS ANTHRACITE.

COAL FIRED POWER PLANT

INSIDE A COAL-FIRED POWER PLANT

ENERGY USE IN U.S.

CountryBituminous & Anthracite

SubBituminous Lignite TOTAL

Percentage of World Total

 United States

108,501 98,618 30,176 237,295 22.6

 Russia 49,088 97,472 10,450 157,010 14.4

 China 62,200 33,700 18,600 114,500 12.6

 Australia 37,100 2,100 37,200 76,500 8.9

 India 56,100 0 4,500 60,600 7.0

WORLD COAL RESERVES

RESERVES TO PRODUCTION RATIO OF AROUND 150 YEARS.

AVERAGE ANNUAL POLLUTION FROM ONE COAL FIRED POWER PLANT:

3,700,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2), the primary human cause of global warming--as much carbon dioxide as cutting down 161 million trees.

10,000 tons of sulfur dioxide (SO2), which causes acid rain

500 tons of small airborne particles, which can cause chronic bronchitis, aggravated asthma

170 pounds of mercury, where just 1/70th of a teaspoon deposited on a 25-acre lake can make the fish unsafe to eat.

NATURAL GAS – MOSTLY METHANE WITH SOME ETHANE

METHANE WAS PRODUCED GEOLOGICALLY BY DECOMPOSITION OF PETROLEUM OR OTHER ORGANICS UNDER HIGH TEMPERATURE AND PRESSURE.

METHANE IS PRODUCED BIOLOGIACLLY IN TERMITES, RUMINANTS, RICE FIELDS, MICROBIAL DECOMPOSITION OF ORGANICS.

IT IS A COLORLESS, ODORLESS GAS.

IT IS 21 TIMES MORE POWERFUL AS A GREENHOUSE GAS THAN CARBON DIOXIDE.

METHANE HAS A HALF-LIFE IN THE ATMOSPHERE OF ABOUT 7 YEARS.

T-BUTYL MERCAPTAN IS ADDED TO NATURAL GAS SO THAT LEAKS CAN BE DETECTED BY ODOR.

COUNTRY RESERVES, MILLION M3

RANK

RUSSIA 44, 650,000 1IRAN 26,850,000 2QUATAR 25,630,000 3SAUDIA ARABIA

7,167,000 4

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

6,071,000 5

U.S.A. 5,977,000 6CHINA 2,265,000 15

PROVEN RESERVES BY COUNTRY

Fracking has emerged as a contentious issue in many communities, and it is important to note that there are only two sides in the debate: those who want our oil and natural resources developed in a safe and responsible way; and those who don’t want our oil and natural gas resources developed at all. Development does bring with it some challenges, but the oil and natural gas industry has and will continue to work with concerned citizens, regulators and policy makers to make sure that it is done responsibly.

- From Shell page on natural gas -

IN FRACKING, A WELL IS DRILLED INTO THE FORMATION OF INTEREST.

IT IS THEN LINED WITH STEEL PIPE, AND THE PIPE OR “CASING” IS CEMENTED INTO PLACE.

THEN, ROCK IN THE FORMATION IS FRACTURED USING HYDRALIC PRESSURE. THE FRACKING FLUID CONSISTS OF WATER, SAND, AND ABOUT 0.5% CHEMICALS.

PRECAUTIONS REQUIRE THE SURFACE CASING TO BE SET BELOW THE LOWEST GROUND WATER FORMATION.

DRILLING AND FRACKING FLUIDS MUST BE RECYCLED OR COLLECTED AND TREATED.

CHEMICALS ARE USED TO PREVENT MICROBIAL GROWTH, TO PREVENT CORROSION OF THE METAL PIPES, AND TO REDUCE THE VISCOSITY OF THE FRACKING FLUID.

METHANE GAS HYDRATES

MethaneICE

THE ENERGY EQUIVALENTS OF ALL THE METHANE HYDRATE DEPOSITS ARE MORE THAN DOUBLE THOSE OF ALL FOSSIL FUELS COMBINED.

RESEARCH IS UNDERWAY OF RECOVERY METHODS BY THE U.S., JAPAN, AND INDIA.

IT IS A SOLID, SO YOU CAN’T PUMP IT THROUGH A PIPE LINE.

GEOLOGISTS CURRENTLY THEORIZE THAT THE PERMIAN EXTINCTION WAS THE RESULT OF MELTING OF MASSIVE QUANTITIES OF METHANE HYDRATE.

ON A UNIT MASS BASIS, METHANE IS 75% CARBON, GASOLINE WOULD AVERAGE AROUND 85% CARBON, AND COAL WOULD BE AROUND 85% CARBON.

SO, METHANE WOULD PRODUCE SLIGHTLY LESS CARBON DIOXIDE ON COMBUSTION.

T. BOONE PICKENS ENERGY PLAN – USE THE NATURAL GAS FOR TRANSPORTATION FUEL UNTIL WE CAN DEVELOP ALTERNATIVES.

REPLACE THE NATURAL GAS FOR ELECTRICAL GENERATION WITH WIND POWER.

PICKENS MAKES THE POINT THAT WE SEND $700 BILLION DOLLARS OUT OF THE COUNTRY EACH YEAR FOR FOREIGN OIL – MUCH TO COUNTRIES THAT ARE NOT OUR FRIENDS.

THAT’S 4 TIMES THE COST OF THE WAR IN IRAQ.

WIND WOULD REPLACE NATURAL GAS FOR THE GENERATION OF 20% OF OUR ELECTRICITY.

AUTOMOBILE ENGINES CAN BE MODIFIED TO RUN ON NATURAL GAS OR PROPANE.

CERTAIN MODELS ARE AVAILABLE FROM THE DEALER WITH THE NEEDED MODIFICATIONS DONE.

OR, THERE ARE SHOPS THAT WILL MAKE THE MODIFICATIONS, BUT THEY ARE EXPENSIVE.

THE COST OF CONVERSION CAN RANGE FROM $12,000 TO $20,000 DEPENDING ON THE VEHICLE.

THERE ARE NOT THAT MANY FUELING STATIONS AVAILABLE YET (ABOUT 600).

A HOME REFUELING STATION CAN BE INSTALLED.

THERE ARE FEDERAL TAX CREDITS THAT WILL OFFSET MOST OF THE COSTS OF CONVERSION.