How many people does coal burning kill each year?

Answer 1

Fossil fuels, when burnt, release a large amount of toxins into the environment. These are consumed by all living things and enter the food chain at all levels which means they are consumed, ultimately, by us. Early figures suggest that the UK smoking ban will save 40,000 lives in the first ten years. Carbon fuel emissions are consumed by everyone, not just smokers, so this would suggest that these will be responsible for many deaths. The worst nuclear accident so far has 20,000 deaths attributed to it along with suffering for many more others. If the emissions from a cigarette are compared to a coal fired power station it becomes alarmingly obvious that nuclear generated power has a much lower effect on our general well being. This does not preclude the fact that the waste generated from these will result in the need for storage that will render parts of our planet inhospitable for thousands of years but on a general health basis this is still better than the continual consumption of the toxins that are generated by the burning of fossil fuels. If we apply our current knowledge, and improved designs for power stations, nuclear fuel would appear to be a sensible replacement for fossil fuel that can support the transition to renewable energy.