Discuss about the Environmental Policy and Industrial Innovation System.
The following is a policy brief on the burning of coal in Britain. The primary focus is how the government in Britain should engage with other international initiatives to end the burning of coal. This brief attempts to bring the issue of coal burning to the attention of the country’s politics so that it can be on the political agenda.
This paper sets out to bring change in the world of electricity generation, by providing better solutions other than coal that are more eco-friendly and that will reduce the number of carbon emissions in the atmosphere. With this, it aims to create a better environment that is sustainable for all living things.
The issue of burning of coal has become rampant in the country and a need to end it has arisen. Combustion of coal contributes to greenhouse gases which pollute the environment as well as cause adverse climate changes. Therefore, burning of coal needs to end and submitted with other forms of electricity generations that are friendly to the environment management.
The burning of coal is a significant issue, and the British government needs to take action quickly to end it. This is because without it, the health of the citizens of the country is guaranteed and it will also benefit future generations. [1] The government needs to highly consider collaborating with international initiatives to bring an end to coal burning in Britain due to the reasons stated above.[2] Discussed below are the reasons why the British government should join the global alliance to end coal burning. [3]
Coal burning in Britain in the 19th century was booming, and it contributed to the economic growth in the country. It provided employment for the residents and led to the success of iron and steam in the country. It was a very lucrative business at that time because it was cheap and it was in abundance. [4] Therefore it was the primary supplier of electricity in the country. [5] However, there has been a decline in coal burning in the recent years, and this is because of the emergence of more effective ways of generating electricity. [6] This has caused many industries and large-scale production factories that depended on coal to switch to new forms like the use of wind and the solar management. [7]
In this instance, coal burning is already phasing out as a means of electricity and therefore it is no longer valid to the country’s electricity generation. The government should thus create policies and strategies that will ensure that coal burning ends completely. A lot of companies in the country that produce coal are filing for bankruptcy. This is because, with the decline in the use of the fuel, the exportation and importation of coal in the country are diminishing. [8] This has taken a toll on these industries because they are making less and fewer profits by day and resulting in closing down. The government should consider a global alliance to end the coal burning so that it does not take a toll on the country’s economy.
Also, coal mining was the primary source of income for many residents in Britain, for instance in the 19th century, a lot of communities were built around coal mines and pits. However, with the decline in the use of coal as a fuel for electricity generations, many citizens in the country are faced with unemployment. The shutting down of industries and companies in coal mining has also contributed to this as well as others filing for bankruptcy. The unemployment rate in Britain has therefore gone up, and the government needs to end coal mining entirely because a lot of residents depend on it when it is highly unreliable.
Another reason why the government should join international initiatives to end coal mining is that the mining towns are the worst places to live in, in Britain because they are deprived. The mining towns have many pits that people consider dangerous as they can collapse at any given time and therefore the citizens avoid such places. The government needs to stop coal mining so that no more towns in the country are affected by the extraction of the fuel.
Over the past years of coal burning and mining, the country has experienced a significant loss of lives. The mining pits are usually dangerous and have collapsed in many instances burying people alive. This has caused many miners to strike in asking the government to provide better working conditions. To avoid this entirely, the government needs to end coal burning and mining by joining other initiatives with the same goal.
Coal burning is also known to contribute to the country’s carbon footprint due to the emissions of carbon dioxide. This has caused adverse weather changes in the state as well as wreaking havoc on the country’s environment. The whole process of coal mining from the digging to the burning has caused severe effects to the country’s environment. It has lead to air pollution, spoiled landscapes (created by the excavation and pits), loss of wildlife and habitat, soil degradation as well as loss of agricultural land. This is reason enough for the British government to take the initiative to stop coal burning in the country.
Coal mining also takes a toll on the country’s health sector. The emissions from coal mining and burning contain small pollutants that when inhaled are dangerous to the human body system. These particles can damage the lungs and can also get into the bloodstream and cause severe illnesses. Coal mining causes health problems to the miners such as asthma, heart attacks, and lung cancer. The people working in the mine are not the only ones affected. The rest of the population especially children are affected. Coal pollutants can cause permanent damage to the lungs of children as they are still developing.
In this instance, the government will have to spend a lot of money in their health sector to cure and prevent these health calamities. They will mainly focus on the children as they are the future generation. Therefore the government needs to collaborate with other international initiatives to end coal burning so that they can reduce the health damages that it causes and not put a strain on the health sector. [9]
Another reason why the government should join global alliances to stop coal burning is that the activity significantly contributes to global warming. The burning of coal emits carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. This gas is trapped in the ozone layer and absorbs sunlight and solar radiation from the earth’s surface that under normal circumstances, was supposed to escape into space. The trapped heat causes the planet to get hotter causing global warming. Power plants in Britain that burn coal are the most significant contributors to global warming in the country. If the government wants to change this, then they should stop coal mining in the country. [10]
The British government needs to make some changes if they want to end coal mining and burning in the country. First, they need to come up with another form of electricity generation that is eco-friendly, and that does not contribute to carbon footprints. Furthermore, coal-burning only adds to 9 percent of the country’s electricity, and therefore it is not as reliable management.
Second, the government needs to reconstruct the cities that are damaged by coal mining. This they can do by replacing with renewable power industries which will drive people to live there because of the abundance of jobs. This will also solve the country’s unemployment situation of the residents that depended on coal mining as a lively hood. By providing another alternative to employment, the residents will not depend on coal mining for income.
Third and most important is that the government needs to join international initiatives that aim at ending coal burning. For instance, Britain has joined the global alliance that has 17 more countries whose primary objective is to end coal mining. The British government is not capable of stopping coal mining on its own because it cannot control the coal situation in other countries and therefore with an alliance, they will be able to conclude. [11]
This is important because if other countries are mining coal, then there is a chance that coal will find a way to Britain be it legally or legally. Global alliance prevents this since none of the countries will be involved in coal mining and therefore ending it altogether. Thus if the British government wants to stop coal mining, it should consider joining other international initiatives. [12]
Fourthly, the British government needs to change the emissions limit for carbon dioxide and other air pollutants. With an emission limit, power plants that burn coal will be limited in the amount of carbon dioxide emissions meaning they will burn lesser coals. [13] This is not the most effective strategy to end coal mining, but at least it will reduce the amount of coal being consumed in the country. This change will have a significant impact in the country especially in providing an eco-friendly environment and a healthier one for the living things.
The emission limit will cause the carbon footprints in the country to reduce significantly thus reducing global warming. It will also result in a decline in air pollution due to the reduction in pollutant particles in the air. Therefore the citizens will have better health and a better environment. [14]
Lastly, the government should change the form of electricity generation to one with lower carbon emissions. The government should consider using other sources such as wind and the solar for electricity as they are eco-friendly and do not contribute to carbon footprints. [15] Other forms of electricity generation will, therefore, eliminate coal mining and thus bringing an end to it. [16]
To stop coal mining and burning, the British government needs to consider taking the following actions:
Conclusion
In conclusion, the British government needs to highly consider joining other international initiatives in ending coal burning because it cannot accomplish it on its own. It might stop coal burning in Britain, but other countries that mine it may export the coal into the country legally or illegally which means that it would not have ended altogether.
Coal mining is phasing out due to cleaner sources of energy such as biomass, solar and wind energy. This means that the country is not reliable on the fuel for energy and therefore it is correct for them to end the burning of fuel. It is essential for the government to consider the global alliance so that it can create an eco-friendly environment for its citizens by coming up with clean sources of electricity.
References
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Menezes, Ana Paula S., Juliana da Silva, Camila Fisher, Fernanda R. da Silva, Juliana M. Reyes, Jaqueline N. Picada, Alice G. Ferraz, et al. “Chemical and toxicological effects of medicinal Baccharis trimera extract from coal burning area.” Chemosphere 146 (2016): 396-404.
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Niu, Xianzeng, Anna Wendt, Zhenhui Li, Amal Agarwal, Lingzhou Xue, Matthew Gonzales, and Susan L. Brantley. “Detecting the effects of coal mining, acid rain, and natural gas extraction in Appalachian basin streams in Pennsylvania (USA) through analysis of barium and sulfate concentrations.” Environmental geochemistry and health 40, no. 2 (2018): 865-885.
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