World's Most Posted Forum Thread. 10.3+ posts!

By some standards, the issue of underground coal fires may seem trivial and even futile. While 80% of China’s carbon emissions come from burning coal, the amount of those emissions from underground coal fires is miniscule in comparison with the output of the country’s coal-fired power plants, which generate twice as many CO2 emissions as the United States’. On top of that, “there are cheaper ways to cut emissions” than extinguishing coal fires, says Kuenzer, citing the enormous expense and limited resources for addressing fires in mining regions, as well as the fires’ tenacity. “The problem of coal fires will only vanish when the mineable coal is all gone,” she says.
Although putting out underground coal fires may seem a fruitless and perpetual battle, Kuenzer is optimistic that efforts to do so are not wasted. “It is better to be 50% successful than to do nothing at all,” she says. “If we were not dealing with it at all, the problem would be much more aggravated—all of the coal would be burning.” And there have been successes: the fires in two of China’s coalfields of were put out over a decade ago and have remained dormant since.
Though some support Kuenzer’s view that coal fires present a chronic battle for firefighters, others like Prakash take a different stance. “I definitely disagree that the fires are un-extinguishable,” she asserts. “There is nothing we can’t manage. We just need a solid plan.” She advocates setting up a system of constant monitoring using remote sensing to detect fires underground, and suggests it should be a priority for the Chinese government. “Establishing a monitoring system is not expensive—it is fighting coal fires that is expensive.”
The extinguishing project in Wuda is scheduled to finish this year, yet a third of the fires continue to burn. Nearly a third of the funds allocated for the project are devoted to extinguishing the remaining fires by the projected end date at the end of this year.
Given that the researchers have estimated that some parts of the Wuda coalfields can be mined for 50 more years, perhaps the more important question is if China will take measures to prevent exacerbation of current fires in their coalfields, or whether ongoing efforts will simply be band-aid solutions to a much deeper, hotter problem.

 

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Too much laggy posts, can't participate in dis. ;]

 

nice try but my method doesn't involve grey images, not that that doesn't work.

 

well, what is your method?

 

that for me to know and you to find out
oh and gl

 

whaaaaaaaaaaaat?