Discussion Post 22

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Southern New Hampshire University *

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Geography

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May 30, 2024

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docx

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Uploaded by ChefNeutron23690

Discussion Post 22 Peabody is a coal producer who provides coal for fuel as well as the creation of steel. One of the environmental concerns inherent to producing coal is the damage caused by either surface (strip) or underground mining operations. Changes to the environment due to strip mining are often caused by the blasting process used to remove mountain tops (US Energy Information Administration, 2022). This blasting can change the landscape, sometimes diverting streams and sometimes covering them completely causing harm downstream. According to the US EIA (2022), underground mining typically does less environmental damage but can still be harmful due to collapse and methane emissions or explosions. The other main cause for concern with coal production is the emissions released by burning it (EIA, 2022). The EIA (2022), says that burning coal can release sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, smog, carbon dioxide, mercury, and ash.' Peabody addresses the mining operations risk by completing comprehensive studies relating to the local ecosystem, water, land use, and any other relevant site- speci*c elements that could be a+ected by the operation (Peabody, 2019). They work to include resource recovery operations into their sites, which both reducing environment impact and reduces costs for the company (Peabody, 2019). They have also implemented an environmental policy that allows for any employee to stop and challenge operations that might result in a negative environmental impact (Peabody, 2019). Peabody (2019) also states that they place an emphasis on reclaiming and rehabilitating sites that were used for mining operations upon completion. One of the main risks for any business that is working to incorporate sustainability into its business model is that there is the possibility for its processes to face increased cost. According to Stall (2020), coal mining already has very thin margins, and has a lot of scrutiny from every direction. As Peabody (2019) has noticed however, they have actually managed to couple environmental protections with cost savings when conducting their resource recovery and energy conservation operations. The danger to a coal company that comes with investing into clean energy research is that eventually no one will want fossil fuels anymore. Peabody has addressed this danger by investing into clean coal research instead of trying to research how to
get o+ fossil fuels all together. This is still very important because coal will likely remain the only a+ordable option for developing countries for the foreseeable future.' I do think that the e+orts being made by Peabody are worthwhile. They are doing the only responsible thing available to them and have contributed a lot to the global adoption of clean coal operations. As they themselves pointed out, they are actually saving money with their resource recovery e+orts, and gaining public support by reclaiming the sites used for their mining operations. Peabody. (2019).'Environmental Policy. Peabody. Retrieved from'https://www.peabodyenergy.com/Sustainability/environ mental-policy Peabody. (2019).'Our Environmental Approach.'Peabody. Retrieved from'https://www.peabodyenergy.com/Peabody/media/Medi aLibrary/Sustainability/2019-Peabody-ESG-Environmental- Approach.pdf US Energy Information Administration (US EIA). (2022).'Coal explained: Coal and the Environment.'US EIA. Retrieved from'https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/coal/coal-and- the-environment.php
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