Coal And Oil (energy And The Environment)

Energy And THE Environment Coal and Oil Energy And THE Environment Coal and Oil JOHN TABAK, Ph.D. For Richard DiNatale, from whom I learned enough to last me a lifetime—at least so far COAL AND OIL Copyright © 2009 by John Tabak, Ph.D. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher. For information contact: Facts On File, Inc. An imprint of Infobase Publishing 132 West 31st Street New York NY 10001 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Tabak, John.   Coal and oil / John Tabak.   p. cm. — (Energy and the environment)   Includes bibliographical references and index.   ISBN-13: 978-0-8160-7083-1 (acid-free paper)   ISBN-10: 0-8160-7083-0 (acid-free paper)   1. Coal. 2. Petroleum as fuel. 3. Fossil fuels. I. Title.   TP319.T33 2009   333.8′2—dc22 2008024343 Facts On File books are available at special discounts when purchased in bulk quantities for businesses, associations, institutions, or sales promotions. Please call our Special Sales Department in New York at (212) 967-8800 or (800) 322-8755. You can find Facts On File on the World Wide Web at http://www.factsonfile.com Text design by Erik Lindstrom Illustrations by Accurate Art Photo research by Elizabeth H. Oakes Printed in the United States of America Bang Hermitage 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 This book is printed on acid-free paper. Contents Preface Acknowledgments Introduction Part 1  Coal 1 A Brief History of Coal The Early History of Coal The Coal Industry in the United States Life and Death in Early Coal Mines 2 Geochemistry and Geology The Chemistry of Coal A Coal Economy The Geology of Coal 3 Meeting the Demand for Coal The Scale of Demand Environmental and Social Costs of Mining An Interview with Charlene Marshall on the   Human Costs of Coal 4 The Combustion Reaction Products and Reactants ix xiii xiv 1 3 3 10 12 18 18 22 25 28 29 35 40 48 48 Global Warming and Carbon Sequestration The Role of the Oceans 53 56 5 Electricity Production and Its Consequences 60 61 67 68 New Power-Production Technologies More on CO2 Sequestration Emissions Controls 6 Alternative Uses for Coal Methane from Coal Coal as a Transportation Fuel A Source for Hydrogen Gas Engineering the Climate 7 Price versus Cost and National Coal Policies Pricing Coal National Energy Policies Carbon Trading Markets Part 2 Oil 8 A Brief History of Oil The Oil Business Prior to 1950 Standard Oil The Oil Business after 1950 9 The Geology and Chemistry of Oil Oil and Geology The Chemistry of Oil When Will the World Run Out of Oil? 10 Meeting the Demand for Oil Obtaining Oil The Oil Sands of Alberta Transporting Oil 73 73 76 78 79 83 84 88 90 97 99 100 104 107 115 116 119 120 126 127 130 132 11 Creating and Consuming Petroleum Products Refineries The Chemistry of Combustion The Refinery Business 12 Patterns of Consumption The Transportation Sector Alternatives to Gasoline Other Uses of Oil 13 Environmental Costs of the Oil Economy Local Effects Global Effects The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge 14 Oil Markets and Government Policies Pricing Petroleum Collusion or Free Market? National Policies Chronology List of Acronyms Glossary Further Resources Index 136 137 140 142 147 148 154 156 158 159 165 166 170 171 181 183 188 191 192 195 200 Preface N ations around the world already require staggering amounts of energy for use in the transportation, manufacturing, heating and cooling, and e