Damage caused by fossil fuels tends to focus on climate change outcomes, for good reason, and occasionally on massive disasters, such as the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in 2010. Coal waste, mostly known as coal ash, is another untenable outcome of the world’s reliance on fossil fuels. Coal is a massive mixture of materials and has been used as a common energy source since the late 1800s. The carbon content of coal burns, which leaves a significant portion of unburned coal, or coal ash, after its combustion. According to the US Department of Energy, there are “2 billion tons of coal ash stored in over 1,000 impoundments scattered across the United States.”

In 1955, a huge coal burning power plant was completed near Knoxville, TN and it held the title of the largest coal burning plant in the world for over a decade. The coal ash generated at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Kingston Fossil Plant was stored in a huge, unlined pit and reached a height of 60 feet. The enormous toxic waste pile collapsed 16 years ago; it released over a billion gallons of coal ash slurry that covered 300 acres and contaminated two rivers. According to James Bruggers’ recent reporting, “It took seven years, but the disaster prompted the Obama administration to adopt the first national regulations managing coal combustion wastes in 2015, including a requirement for closing unlined ash pits like the one at Kingston.”

Just this past year, the EPA finalized a new rule that will require all coal power plants – including those that no longer accept coal ash - to clean up coal ash dumps. The 2015 rule did not require older pits to comply. Unlined coal ash pits commonly leak contaminants into groundwater. According to EarthJustice, “The EPA designated coal ash a national enforcement priority last year and has ramped up enforcement actions, acknowledging that there is widespread noncompliance with existing coal ash regulations.”

The workers who cleaned the coal ash damage from the Kingston plant suffered various illnesses as a result of their exposures to the coal ash toxins. Their employer, Jacobs Engineering, failed to protect its workers and settled a lawsuit for $77.5 million in damages for 220 out of the 900 workers, thanks to an incredibly courageous attorney. https://insideclimatenews.org/.../tva-toxic-disaster.../...

2 billion tons and counting as long as coal continues to be used as fuel…

Modern solar energy is based on materials that convert sunlight to electricity or heat. The first solar cell, credited to Charles Fritts in 1883, provided a sun to energy conversion efficiency of 1-2%. After years of research on improved materials and designs (especially the last 30 years), the current silicon-based solar cells offer up to 22% efficiency, and more complex materials can reach 47%. Other types of solar cells are on the horizon as the research world continues to seek more durable, affordable materials with higher energy conversions.

Thanks to the declining costs of solar panels and government incentives for clean energy, solar energy has become more affordable and it continues to expand in multiple markets. In 2010, the median income of households that installed solar panels was $141,000 compared to $115,000 in 2023, according to a report from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. For comparison, the median income of US owner-occupied households is $94,000. This trend of more affordable solar energy is expected to continue.

University of Michigan’s Center for Sustainable systems offers some facts on solar energy:

1) The sun provides an enormous amount of power daily; on average, 173,000 TW (terawatt = a trillion watts) of solar radiation continuously strike the Earth, compared to the global electricity demand of around 3.0 TW.

2) In 2023, the amount of global (photovoltaic) solar energy grew by 447 GW to 1,624 GW.

3) It is likely that the 2024 global investments in solar power ($500 billion, or 17% of total energy) will exceed all other energy generation sources combined.

Dan Rather recently wrote about President Jimmy Carter’s efforts to protect our natural environment: “Carter was far ahead of his time on many issues, especially the environment. He was an early advocate for green energy and energy conservation, famously installing solar panels on the White House. Imagine where the world would be today if it had followed his lead instead of mocking him.”

From the National Museum of American History: “Carter had 32 solar panels installed on the White House West Wing roof in the summer of 1979. These panels were used to heat water in the household for seven years until President Ronald Reagan had them removed in 1986.”

The Yale Climate Connections website summarizes President Carter’s visions, concerns and efforts on solar energy. Here is a passage:

“Carter, in his State of the Union address the year the panels were installed, presented an ambitious plan to put America on a clean energy path: 20% of energy from renewable sources by 2000. Part of his idea was to go far beyond simple hot water solar collectors and direct government research funds toward the development of photovoltaic cells, the kind that could put energy into the grid.” (https://yaleclimateconnections.org/.../the-forgotten.../)

RIP, President Carter.