There are the abundant natural resources in
this wealthy world; one of them is the coal. It is a fossil fuel that is formed
from the decomposition of organic materials that have been subjected to
geologic heat and pressure over millions of years. The coal
is considered a nonrenewable resource because it cannot be replenished in a short period. Indonesia has the plentiful potential coal, especially in Kalimantan
and Sumatra Provinces, while in other areas the coal can be found even in small
amounts, such as in West Java, Central Java, Papua, and Sulawesi Provinces. Thereby,
Indonesian people want to utilize this coal resource. And this is the reasons
of why many people want to mine the coal; the coal has the enormous benefits and
advantages for human life.
People mine the coal since it has enormous benefits for human life. For the illustration, the coal is as the electrical energy for
daily activities, such as ironing the clothes, watching TV, and using the
computer. The way to produce the electrical energy is the coal is burned and
boiled in the water and it will produce the steam which will be distributed to
the turbine; windmills that is used to generate electricity. Then, it rotates
the generator; the device that converts mechanical to electrical energy, to
produce electricity. Moreover, the coal
is as fuel in energy industries, such as in term of making the paper, plastic, metal, steel, bricks, cement, and ceramic. Similarly,
the energy of coal is as fuel in the household, such as for cooking and home fires.
Beside the
benefits, the coal also has the advantages that many people want to mine the
coal. The coal is available in abundance throughout
the world, such as in Indonesia, Australia, China, America, and India and it
can be obtained by many people, so it is easy to be sold and distributed in
order to produce electrical or fuel energies. Another advantage is the coal is an inexpensive resource to
generate electrical energy than
others, such as solar, wind, and nuclear since the coal
only requires the affordable cost, transport,
and device; by burning and boiling the coal
into the water which will generate the steam. Then, it is distributed to the turbine
and generator to produce the electrical energy. The last advantage is the
employment availability. In
the coal mining industry, there is greater employment availability than the
others because not only using manpower,
but also there are small traders and distributors who sell the coal. Thereby, there
are great opportunities for many people.
These
are the reason of why many people mine the coal; nevertheless, there are the
negative consequences of it, such as air and soil pollutions.
The first negative consequence of coal mining is air pollution. Air
pollution caused by the coal combustion process; in addition, this pollution
also appears from the mining operations, such as drilling, blasting, hauling,
and transporting the coal. Overall, all of these activities are a major source
of the air pollution. Furthermore, air pollution consists of the gases or
elements, such as sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), particulate
matter (fly ash), and mercury. They are so harmful for the human health and
environment that is sulfur dioxide (SO2) can cause acid rain which endangers
the crop or forest and acidifies the lake or stream; in addition, nitrogen oxides
(NOx), particulate matter (fly ash), and mercury can cause respiratory, brain
and heart disease for human being.
The second negative consequence of coal mining is water pollution. Water
pollution caused by coal washing which produce the liquid coal waste and it
consists of harmful liquid, such as sulfur (s), mercury (Hg), hydrogen cyanide
(HCN), and sulfuric acid (H2SO4). Besides an impact on skin diseases for human
being, this liquid coal waste is adversely affected to the river environment because
it will be contaminated with the toxic waste; furthermore, there are also many
fishes that are contaminated with the toxic waste and it will be dangerous for
human being as the consumer.
In summary, although there are many
reasons for people of the coal mining; the coal can be the electrical and fuel
energies, the coal is the inexpensive resource and abundance availability in
the whole world, and there are great employment availabilities for people,
there are the bad impacts of it, such as air and water pollution which are so
dangerous for human life and health. Every activity must generate the effects,
similarly with the coal mining. Thus, we as the human being who lives in this
wealthy world; especially in Indonesia, should
minimize the negative impacts by using the natural resources wisely; in
addition, we do not exploit it on a large scale.
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