Burning Coal to Heat Private Homes on the Rise
Apparently, the burning of coal is making a comeback as a source of heating fuel for private homes. In coal-rich regions of the Northeast, Midwest, and Alaska, homeowners have been choosing coal as their preferred home heating method in rising numbers in recent years. According to the Energy Information Administration, home coal use jumped by 9% in 2007 and 10% in the first eight months of 2008.
This rise is being attributed to the rising costs of traditional heating fuels such as natural gas and heating oil. For example, a ton of anthracite coal could cost as little as $120, while the equivalent amount of heating oil would cost around $380 and natural gas would cost around $480.
While coal is, of course, a major contributor to climate change, the use of coal in private homes is still so limited (around 200,000 households use it as a primary or secondary source of heat) that it has not been identified as a significant source of greenhouse gases.
Nonetheless, since coal-fired heaters are not regulated, they do contribute substantially to local particulate air pollution. Wood-fired heaters have long been recognized as a source of harmful particulates and have consequently faced regulations such as filters and restricted usage.
However, the real lesson of this trend is that coal is too cheap. Of course it is essential for people to have access to affordable heating sources–the same way it is essential for the country at-large to have access to affordable electricity. However, just because coal does not cost a lot of money to pull out of the ground and burn, does not mean that it is cheap. It is just that the costs of its use are borne by the surrounding people and planet. Whether it is a neighbor breathing in coal particulates in the air or the entire earth heating up, the main costs are paid by others. Until these costs are built into the price of coal, its use and consumption will continue to expand.
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