Energy. The existence of humanity highly depends on this vital resource. For the longest time, people have witnessed how its production shaped the society. As people continue to use energy at a faster rate, energy scarcity is said to be possible in the future. To secure the supply of energy, some experts believe that it is necessary to utilize unconventional sources of energy, such as the use of coal deposits which are unreachable by the regular mining methods. In the article written by Fred Pearce, he talks about the different issues surrounding this process. According to Pearce, “modern miners want to set fire to these deep coal seams and capture the gases this creates for industry and power generation,” an activity known as Underground Coal Gasification or UCG (Pearce). Although he presents the benefits of UCG, it is clear that through the use of facts and quotations, as well as metaphors, he attempts to convince his readers that UCG is harmful. However, his attempt is unsuccessful because his explanation of UCG and its importance overpowers the way he presents its risks.
First of all, Pearce uses facts and quotations to convince his readers that UCG will bring more harm than good to the world. For instance, he cites the incident which happened during the trials of UCG in the United States. Pearce says that “in 2011, the Queensland authorities shut down Cougar's operations at Kingaroy after benzene and toluene seeped into a nearby water borehole.” He also mentions that many analysts believe that “unacceptable warming” will result from burning a significant amount of fossil fuel reserves, a possible effect of UCG. He further states that “the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recently reckoned that the world needs to limit total emissions of carbon, from now on, to less than half a trillion tonnes just to keep global warming below 2 °C.” Through these cited facts and quotations, Pearce brings to light the possible harm that is associated with UCG.
In addition, he also uses metaphors to create a negative impression toward UCG. For instance, within the first paragraph, he uses the word “horror,” which refers to an intense fear, to depict the feelings of the people who are concerned about the climate condition and how UCG may further add to these people’s worries. Furthermore, he also mentions how others perceive UCG as a way to “fry the planet.” Clearly, these words paint an alarming scenario. Another metaphor he uses to describe UCG is “Dantean inferno.” This refers to the hell that is depicted in an epic poem called Divine Comedy. All these metaphors suggest that UCG is an idea that will possibly bring results that are as horrifying as the concept of hell.
However, despite the strategies that Pearce employs in his writing to highlight the possible negative effects of UCG, the benefits he presents overpowers its risks; therefore, making his attempt unsuccessful. For example, he mentions that “the International Energy Agency's latest estimates, some 400 trillion cubic metres of economically recoverable methane lies trapped in coal and shale beds around the world. It roughly doubles estimates of how much gas miners may be able to get their hands on” (Pearce). This is quite promising to read about. Although Pearce mentions the groundwater contamination that took place in Queensland and although he quotes Bradbury as he talks about how the rocks will be disturbed and fractured in the process, he also presents a counterargument from the same source, which seems to weaken his own point. According to Bradbury, “the dangers are greatly reduced when the coal seams you are tapping are beneath the sea. Water under the seabed is not used for public supplies, and is unlikely to be in future because most of it is saline” (as cited in Pearce). Moreover, Pearce presents the fact that the energy that can be produced through UCG can supply the energy needs of the world for the next 1000 years. Now, presenting this potential benefit to the readers without expounding on the extent of risk of UCG weakens Pearce’s attempt to emphasize the negative side of the process of unconventional mining.
Overall, Pearce is able to present the two sides of UCG through his article. By presenting some facts and quotations and by employing metaphors, it is evident that he attempts to convince the readers that the said process poses great harm. However, the way he presents a counterargument together with the benefits of UCG is too strong that it made his attempt unsuccessful.
Reference
Pearce, F.
