Argumentative Essay

Amy Miller

Mr. Schelle

English 111

16 Nov 2009

Digging America Out of Darkness

Half of American’s energy is generated by only one mineral: coal (Adams). Coal has been used by humans ever since the caveman era, and continues today. The Hopi Indians used coal for making pottery and cooking, while the caveman used it for heating. Coal was and still continues to be a practical way to create large amounts of energy. (“DOE - Fossil Energy . . .”).

Commercial mining of coal started roughly in the 1740’s in and around Virginia. This useful mineral is burned to create energy for a wide variety of industries today. Coal is burned to make steam, which turns generators and produces energy. Power plants across the nation use this mineral. Products resulting from coal-powered plants include paper, steel, iron, cement and ceramics ("Coal - Uses").

Many people opposed to mining believe coal mines are “destroying the land” (“The Dirty Facts . . .”). They feel having a good view from their front porch is more important than mining coal because of the large equipment. In the vast United States there are 2,379,964,800 acres (“How Many Acres Total is the US? . . .”). One hundred thirty-nine million acres of this land is dedicated to National Forests and grasslands (“How many acres of National Forest” . . .). According to the National Mining Association (NMA) Website, throughout the entire history of mining only five million acres have been mined. That is only 21% of our nations land and in 1978 Coal Mines started to reclaim and re-establish mining land. Since the start of this process more than seven billion dollars have been spent. Therefore in actuality there are even fewer than five million acres being mined at this point. Various politicians argue this point, the same politicians living in large cities, who feel that mining isn’t “pretty enough” (Fast Facts).

The most heard about argument is that coal destroys the ozone layer. A large amount of politicians believe that coal is “dirty” ("The Dirty Facts . . ."). However, today’s power plants emit 90% less pollutants than in 1970. Also, at mines in Colorado the sulfur content is even less than 1%, it comes out as .53% sulfur (“Fast Facts”). Companies like Tides donate roughly 120,000 dollars to groups that harass miners and company owners who use coal (Steven Adams). They believe that coal mining is depleting the ozone layer and needs to be stopped. However, instead of using this money to create a new way of power plants and creating energy, they use it to try and shut down mines. These companies have no plans of creating different sources of energy; somehow that part of the scheme is incomplete.

A great quality of coal mining is that coal is domestically mined. With coal, there is no need to have to buy this from other countries, because out of every ten tons of coal mined, nine of it goes to generating domestic electricity. Coal is found on 458,600 acres of land in 38 states, and there is a 235-year reserve in the US. Coal is used extremely often, yet there is still at least a 235-year reserve left in place. Coal is used so much that each person in the United States uses 3.7 tons of coal on average annually. With the United States’ falling economy the country needs to use each and every advantage that it can produce.

On average 61% of American’s money goes to purchasing imported goods. This doesn’t help our economy because buying imported goods often leads to the closing of manufacturing labs in the United States. Various countries do not have a minimum wage and pay their workers very little; therefore they can sell and distribute their products for less than American industries can. This leads to fewer US products being bought, which results in wage cuts or lay offs. Many companies still cannot compete with the low prices and factories shut down. Americans are then out of jobs and the economy falls. This problem doesn’t occur for coal mining, however, because it is domestically mined which means a better economy because US dollars are being spent in America (“Fast Facts”).

Many people opposed to coal mining argue that it is an unsafe occupation. Mining technology during the Californian Gold Rush wasn’t safe and sadly that is what most Americans envision when they picture mining. Of course canary mining and pick axes don’t make much for safety. However, individuals that have visited new mines will argue that mining is actually very advanced in safety. In fact half of the US mines went without any lost time injuries in 2007. Various jobs including construction, education, agriculture, retail trade, and health services all average more non-fatal injuries and illnesses that mining does. Americans that want to shut down mining due to safety might as well shut down construction services, farms, and schools ("Safety: Mining's Commitment").

One of the biggest hits the United States will take if the coal mines are closed is job opportunity. Coal mines employ roughly 138,600 people ("Fast Facts"). However, there are even more jobs that aren’t in the actual mining industry that result from coal mines. The National Mining Association states that for one coal mining job there are 3.5 other jobs generated from it. These jobs come from power plants and goods transportation. Yes, there are jobs in “Green Industries” but the wages don’t match up.Starting wages for a high school student with no further education is about 60% less in a wind industry than in a coal mining industry (“Green Jobs Struggle To Pay Living Wage”). With the falling economy $12 per hour will not support a family, especially with the increase of price for heat not generated by coal. According to the Heritage Foundation, if the coal mines close in West Virginia electricity prices could rise by $970.63 a month (Adams). So not only are workers going to either be unemployed, or paid less, they are also going to have to make up for the rise in their electricity bills.

In 2007 there were only 50,000 jobs in wind turbine industries (Wind Turbine Jobs Forecast). That same year coal mining employed over 83,000 people (“Coal and jobs . . .”). The difference then was not huge; however, the wind turbine plants are topped out at 50,000 jobs, while the coal mining industry’s demand for workers keeps increasing (Green Jobs Struggle To Pay Living Wage). In other words, the 138,000 people that would lose their jobs if coal mining was shut down would have no place to work in the “Green Industry”.

The planet is the people’s responsibility to take care of; however, coal mining cannot be replaced at this moment. There are not enough jobs, and not another valiant resource like coal available to the United States. Until a known way to create as much energy as coal does is found, there is no other option but to keep mining. The economy would fall apart, and the United States would be in distress. Coal is the glue holding the United States together.

Works Cited

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Caldwell, Jack. "Coal Mine Wages: 2008 CostMine Summary."I Think Mining. 20 Feb 2009. Web. 6 Nov 2009. <http://ithinkmining.com/2009/02/20/coal-mine-wages-2008-costmine-summary/>.

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"National Journal Online -- Energy/Enviro Experts -- Should We Start Swapping Coal For Gas?"National Journal Online -- Energy/Enviro Experts. Web. 10 Nov. 2009. <http://energy.nationaljournal.com/2009/11/should-we-start-swapping-coal.php#1387697>.

"Safety: Mining's Commitment." NMA. Web. 9 Nov 2009.<http://www.nma.org/pdf/s_one_pager.pdf>.

"Wind Turbine Jobs Forecast."Wind Turbines Now - Generators Power Energy. Web. 10 Nov. 2009. <http://www.windturbinesnow.com/wind-turbine-jobs.htm>.

"Green Jobs Struggle To Pay Living Wage."www.windaction.org | Welcome. Web. 10 Nov. 2009. <http://www.windaction.org/news/21534>.