Exploring the relationship between electricity produced from coal & environmental impacts in support of wind: The Richmond Land Trust, Richmond, MA. Raya Ariella, September 25 th 2005

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"to research, develop, demonstrate and promote those technologies which have the least disruptive impact on the natural ecology of the Earth."

ON COMMON GROUND Berkshires Mountain tops Local ecology Conservation

Transportation 33% Electricity Generation 40.5% Industrial 16.5% Residential 6% Commercial 4% Sources of U.S. CO 2 emissions (1999)

Silent & invisible killers: (Massachusetts amounts) Carbon dioxide 13,703,734 tons/yr Nitrogen oxides 22,689 tons/yr Sulfur dioxides 77,496 tons/yr Mercury 232 lbs/yr

Nitrogen oxides & Sulfur dioxide: Forests Soils Aquatic life Ground level ozone Mercury: Forests Aquatic life Dangerous neurotoxin

Electricity production requires a reliable, abundant, and predictable source of water, a resource that is, increasingly, in limited supply in parts of the United States and much of the world. The electricity industry is second only to agriculture as the largest domestic user of water, accounting for 39% of all freshwater withdrawals in the nation, of which 74% is used in fossil-fuel-based electricity generation. 1 1 Coal, the most abundant fossil fuel, currently accounts for 52% of U.S. electricity generation 2 2, and each kWh generated from coal requires up to 27 gallons of water to produce. That means that U.S. citizens may indirectly depend upon as much water turning on the lights and running appliances as they may directly use taking showers and watering lawns. Water: our most valued resource Each kWh generated from coal requires up to 27 gallons of water produce X 11,502,861,000 kilowatt hours* 310,577,247,000 gallons of water per year* *Residential, commercial and industrial use of electricity produced from coal in 2002 For Massachusetts alone.

 Carbon dioxide & Higher Temperatures Increased water & air temps Melting of polar ice Rise in sea level Change in precipitation patterns & extreme weather events Pests & disease migration Species migration Species decline Change in ground water supplies Rise in sea levels

Other problems associated with producing electricity from coal Destroys mountain tops Local ecology Destroys communities Threatens public health by polluting: Water Air Soil

No air emissions No fuel to mine, transport or store No cooling water use No water pollution No wastes (hazardous, toxic, radioactive, etc) Wind Power’s Environmental Benefits

Solutions: Conservation in tandem with renewables Diversity of resources Live locally “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead - anthropologist