Another Conspiracy Theory - Pennsylvania Coal Fires

http://itotd.com/articles/346/

Heat under the street

There are a bunch of little facts that I sort of half-learned in elementary
school, and have had a hard time remembering ever since. I remember the terms
?dromedary? and ?bactrian,? for example, but that crucial bit of information
about which camel has one hump and which has two just didn?t stick. The same
thing goes for names of cloud types?cirrus, cumulus, nimbus?I know the names but
I forget which is which. And then there?s coal. I vividly recall learning about
anthracite, bituminous, and lignite coal as a child in Pennsylvania, a state
legendary for its coal production. But which type had which properties? It?s all
a blur now. Since I did not pursue an education or profession in which this
knowledge was needed, my brain apparently decided to delete those records to
make space for really important information, such as Star Trek trivia.

I do remember, though, that when I was quite young my father took me to a coal
mine that offered tours to the public. I thought it was absolutely the coolest
thing ever. Getting to ride in that train down into the dark tunnels, seeing all
that amazing machinery, and imagining the life of a miner was exciting and
mysterious. I?ve always had a fondness for caverns and tunnels?maybe that?s
where it all started.

As an adult living in California, I rarely think about coal mines. I do,
however, think about wildfires and forest fires, especially in the dry months of
late summer. Everyone understands that these things just happen?due sometimes to
natural causes, sometimes human causes (accidental or intentional). And when
they occur, vast firefighting resources are unleashed to contain the fires in
order to minimize the risk to homes and businesses. After all, they pose an
imminent threat, plain for all to see (and smell). Of course they have to be
stopped.

I learned recently that Pennsylvania has the distinction of being home to the
largest number of underground coal fires in the United States. And further, that
some of these fires have been burning continuously for upwards of 40 years; that
they?ve decimated entire towns; that they vent an unimaginable amount of carbon
dioxide and other gases into the already overburdened atmosphere; and that, for
the most part, very little is being done about them. All these facts astonish
and disturb me, but none more than the very possibility of the fires? existence.
How can a fire rage underground for decades? The answer: very easily.

Fire in the Hole
Picture an abandoned coal mine?there are thousands of them in Pennsylvania.
Although much of the coal has been removed, plenty still remains?perhaps just
not in a configuration that?s easily extractable. Miles of tunnels, their
ceilings shored up with columns of unexcavated coal, lie empty. Though the
entrance to the mine may have been sealed, that seal was by no means complete or
airtight. And suppose some of the coal lies very close to the surface?or is even
visible in an exposed seam. Now something happens to ignite the coal. It may be
a natural cause?lightning, for instance, or even spontaneous combustion given
the right conditions. Or maybe a forest fire, or someone burning garbage.

Once the coal begins burning, it feeds off the air in the tunnels and the
ventilation shafts that were used to supply air to the miners. Still more air
seeps through natural cracks in the rock. Coal burns very easily, requiring only
a tiny amount of oxygen?and with millions of tons of fuel handy, it soon spreads
beyond the existing tunnels and into the thick strata of coal that lie under
immense tracts of land. When enough of the coal burns through, the ground above
it collapses?an effect known as subsidence. The newly formed cracks or pits
allow more air in, accelerating the fire?s spread. Meanwhile, carbon dioxide,
smoke, and steam escape, killing plants and making the area?s air unsafe for
humans and wildlife.

Our State Insect: The Firefly (no kidding)
No one can say for sure how many such fires currently rage in Pennsylvania, but
the number is unquestionably in the dozens. The number is hard to pin down
because coal fires that seem to be out can smolder at very low temperatures for
years and then flare up again; the process of checking to see whether they?re
still going carries with it the risk of making matters worse by adding more air.

The largest and most infamous of Pennsylvania?s coal fires is under the town of
Centralia. It started in 1962, apparently due to someone burning garbage in the
town dump. For decades, a combination of bureaucratic delays, funding shortages,
and ineffective containment efforts permitted the fire to grow to the point that
the entire town (formerly home to 1,100 people) was condemned and basically shut
down. A handful of residents remain, despite repeated government orders to
evacuate. They enjoy peace and quiet for the most part, but worry about the
ongoing threats of subsidence, toxic fumes, and careless tourists injuring
themselves.

Down and Out
Underground coal fires are notoriously difficult to extinguish. If it were a
simple matter of pumping water (or some other substance) into the old mine
tunnels to suffocate the fire, it would have been out long ago. Part of the
problem is simply getting to the spots that are on fire; another part is pushing
out all the oxygen, given the very porous nature of the coal and the rock in
which it?s embedded. And then there?s the scale: the volume of underground space
affected by the fire is immense (and growing all the time). Conservative
estimates put the cost of containing (not extinguishing) the Centralia fire
alone at well over half a billion dollars. And, of course, that?s just one
fire?there?s always another. Since that sort of money is nowhere to be found,
officials throw up their hands and say, ?We?ll just let it burn out.? How long
will that take? Experts think there?s enough coal to keep it going for another
250 years.

Pennsylvania is by no means the only place with unquenchable underground coal
fires. Similar fires burn in other parts of the U.S., as well as China, India,
Indonesia, and elsewhere around the world. Under Australia?s Burning Mountain
Nature Preserve is a coal fire that has been burning for at least 2,000 years,
and possibly as long as 5,500 years. In all, there may be hundreds of thousands
of active coal fires, and only in rare cases are any serious efforts being made
to stop them.

By some estimates, coal fires are a bigger contributor to global warming than
cars?a truly staggering thought. Although fighting them is difficult and
expensive, very little money has been spent looking for technological solutions.
And one of the biggest reasons is simply that the fires are, for the most part,
invisible. While a California wildfire may be an obvious threat requiring
immediate action, it?s hard to convince governments to put money into solving a
problem that can?t be seen?especially when it?s relatively cheap simply to
relocate residents and put up fences and warning signs.?JK

http://itotd.com/articles/346/

Hehehehe. Now why did they first invent the steam engine? The "Newcommen
Engine" it was called.

http://www.keveney.com/newcommen.html

I wonder how many Tree-Huggers will be using article this as gospel?


Alan

http://www.veloceraptor.free-online.co.uk/enigma.html

http://veloceraptor.blogspot.com/
.

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