The Impact of Our Contiunued Energy Consumption

If the world continues to use energy at its current rate, the effect on the environment will be quite severe. Coal supplies are plentiful and are not expected to run out for some time. This is the most pressing issue since coal power plants produce a large percentage of the worlds energy while also being the most dirty polluter. As other fuels like oil run out, coal will have to play a bigger role in energy production, until it of course runs out. By then, burning all that coal would have added 2.4719877 * 10^15 kg of carbon dioxide to the air. This is nearly equivalent to the current amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere (3.16 * 10^15 kg).


     2.93 kg of carbon dioxide released from burning 1kg of coal
     930 billion short tons of proven coal reserves ~ 8.43681808 * 10^14 kg 

Burning coal is not the only way coal destroys the environment. Accidents, such as the Kingston Fossil Plant coal fly ash spill, are tremendously damaging to the surrounding inhabitants and environment.

What is the scientific basis for anthropogenic global warming?
They say a picture is worth a thousand words so here's the equivalent of 2,000 words...

The industrial revolution occurred at the bottom of the hockey stick curve.  This was the beginning of fossil fuels being consumed at a rate never seen by earth, and now we are experiencing irreversible changes in earth's climate.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_dioxide
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingston_Fossil_Plant_coal_fly_ash_slurry_spill  
http://www.pewclimate.org/facts-and-figures/international/historical