The environmental impacts of coal include land use, such as the land used to mine coal, and water and air pollution caused by the process of coal mining and the use of its products. The burning of coal creates tons of waste products yearly such as fly ash and bottom ash and flue-gas desulfurization sludge. This sludge contains mercury, uranium, arsenic and other heavy metals. Hundreds of respiratory health problems have been recorded, all caused by the pollution being created by the burning of coal. In many parts of the world, especially China, air quality has steadily declined. Coal plants (where the coal is burned) give off carbon dioxide emissions, which is one of the main causes of global warming. The burning of coal is also a leading cause of smog (polluted air with a foggy appearance), acid rain (acidic rainfall which is created by atmospheric pollution) and toxic air pollution.
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