The huge demand of fuel is increasing day by day but the source is limited is energy crisis and because of this we all have a fear having no fuel or electricity one day. Energy crisis is as important as global warming. The past couple of years we were to busy and ignorant to even care about energy crisis. We all were happy and lazy to even walk to the nearest grocery store but it was okay because earth's population was low but now its not. Nowadays everything requires energy now whether it is your car or your coffee maker. It's the modern era and this was bound to happen because as we are progressing towards our future, we are getting more 'modern' or we are trying our best to make life easy but at the same time the population is changing and energy consuming machines are being introduced to us, this is what making several nation concerned about their energy stock. But to avoid living with sun and moon as the only source energy we have to take action and for doing that we need to get to the root of this crisis.
What is this 'energy' that is going to cause panic? Energy is basically a unit which is needed for work. Coal is a form of energy as it is burned to produced electricity which charges your laptop and you are able to study or do work. Coal is a fossil fuel and is a non-renewable source. The formation of coal takes millions of years. When trees die they make a swamp underneath the soil and as more and more tree die, layers and layers of swamp is made one above other. Thus, a thick layers of dead vegetation is formed. The topmost layers compress the layers below. After some physical and chemical changes happen due to heat and pressure a carbon-rich deposit is formed. And to obtain this carbon-rich deposit big machines are used to mine it out. This is a very lengthy and costly process. Now even though there is enough coal is formed for us to use but with the increase in demand more companies are mining for coal and this coal is directly sent to factories. Very rarely coal exceeds the demand and needs to be stored but even companies can stock coal in limited amount. Continuous use of coal leads to continuous surface or underground mining which means less coal for the future. And even if by human nature we get greedy and think about ourselves at some point there is going to be a shortage of coal and we eventually have to learn to live without it. This is not just the case for coal but for petroleum as well as natural gas. And if the usage of coal is still the same then the end of coal is near. Some signs for the end of the coal era is already shown.
Despite having a flourishing economy China is facing a shortage of coal. In 2019, 58% of the country's energy consumption came from coal. This is also the reason why China accounts for 28% of global CO2 emissions. "China's electricity shortage is rippling across factories and industries" says Melina Delkic, a New York Times writer. The sudden power shortage sent China in panic and the authorities ordered the companies to rush to mines and burn as much as coal possible. Mines which were closed without authorization were ordered to open. The Climate Tracker Analysis department warned China about its usage of coal but they ignored their advice and continue to mine and use coal in large numbers. China practically stopped new coal investments after 2016 and now with the pandemic the prices have rose along with the demand. And the winter season is just around the corner that means more energy will be used for heaters and they only have 9 to 14 days worth of coal in storage. If by then China fails to mine coal and send it to coal -burning factory the citizens of the country will have to survive the cold without the help of heaters or electricity. Its not too late for the Chinese government to come up with an alternative which is environmental friendly and is a renewable source of energy.
We should learn a lesson by looking at our fellow Chinese brothers and sisters, its not too late to find a long term solution to preserve the coal for the future generations. And if we have to bring change we need to start it from our own house we can do this by switching lights off when unnecessary, using a bicycle to travel short distances. One of the way to prevent this situation is to popularize the use of renewable energy and promote green energy. We also need a proper media coverage of the cause of energy crisis and the bad effects of being dependent on fossil fuels. By doing this we can make the general public understand the seriousness of the situation. There are uncountable solutions for energy crisis but we need to understand and start using this in daily life. Let us come together to save coal for our future generations as well as for our present.
Bibliography
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“How Is Coal Formed? - Definition, Mining & Uses with Videos.” BYJUS, byjus.com/chemistry/coal-story/. Accessed 14 Oct. 2021
“Despite Pledges to Cut Emissions, China Goes on a Coal Spree.” Yale E360, e360.yale.edu/features/despite-pledges-to-cut-emissions-china-goes-on-a-coal-spree#:~:text=%20Coal%20remains%20at%20the%20heart%20of%20China%E2%80%99s. Accessed 14 Oct. 2021
Dawn.com, 2015, i.dawn.com/primary/2016/08/57a1b8c4a442b.jpg. Accessed 14 Oct. 2021.
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