be burnt in order to get the same output of energy (Montgomery, 1990). It is also possible to remove the sulfur gases after the coal is burnt but before it is released to the atmosphere through the use of scrubbers but this is expensive and can increase the cost of using coal by up to 25 per cent (Alm, Curhan, 1984). Oil also contains sulfur but most of it is removed during the refining process and by the time it is burnt it only contains about 10 per cent of the sulfur that coal does.The burning of coal also produces a great deal of solid waste. Ash left over from burning coal can amount to five to twenty percent of the original volume. In the atmosphere it fouls the air and if it is captured by scrubbers it still must be safely disposed of in some manner. Coal ash is composed mostly of incombustible silicate materials but it also contains toxic metals and even trace amounts of uranium. If left exposed to the elements the fine ash weathers rapidly and the toxic metals leach out posing a pollution threat to ground and surface water. A single coal fired power plant can produce up to a million tonnes of solid waste per year, all of which must be safely disposed of or treated at great cost (Montgomery, 1990)DevcoBy the mid 1960's coal mining in Nova Scotia was in serious trouble. With cheap imported oil and an expanding network of oil and gas pipelines coal was becoming more expensive to use than its alternatives. In 1963 the federal government established the Cape Breton Development Corporation (Devco) to slowly wind down the industry and find alternative employment and development opportunities for those affected communities (Doern, Toner, 1985). By 1971 Devco had cut mining employment by half.With Devco now in charge and their agenda clear it looked like the end for the unprofitable coal mining industry. Then the Arab oil embargo of 1973 quadrupled oil prices and the interest in coal was rekindled around the world as every m...
