It is a complicated relationship that, to an extent, we share. Poland relies on coal to generate its own electricity, as a major employer and as a source of export income (which is where we have some interest - the UK imported 549,900 tonnes of Polish coal in the first half of 2013). However this isn't without cost - coal is an undeniably "dirty" fuel in terms of carbon dioxide, sulphur gases and particulates. To the point where people in coal mining areas in Poland don't want the industry that they rely on - as I said it is a complicated relationship.
It isn't just the Poles who need to make decisions about our future sources of energy, we too are facing some serious choices in the short term to balance our energy security and independence with the need to protect the environment. Whatever decisions are made, geologists will have to be involved in the science that must be the basis for any choice we make.
What do you think we should do?
No comments:
Post a Comment