Coal

• Anywhere we find coal, we’re looking at ancient swamp!
• As the dense plant life dies, it is buried and pressed into Carbon rich soil that eventually becomes solid coal.

• Because coal is found as solid layers between rocks, we can dig or mine it out of the ground.
  • SURFACE MINING – Earth above coal is completely removed and coal dug up with large equipment.
  • UNDERGROUND MINING – tunnels dug into mountains or difficult terrain to remove coal.

• When giant holes are dug to extract coal, the entire ecosystem is disturbed.
• Filling the holes back in costs a lot of time and money, and mine companies often go bankrupt before completing the land restoration.

• Weak spots in miles long underground mine tunnels can collapse, trapping miners and causing sinkholes at the surface.

• When piles of coal jostle around, small bits break off as dust which can blow into the wind creating a dense black cloud.
• These heavy particles can lodge in the lungs of people who are around it regularly leading to lifelong health complications.

• The ash left after burning coal is super lightweight and toxic.
• Every powerplant has a COAL ASH POND to store this nasty stuff, which can leak into and pollute waterway.

• Coal accounts for roughly 11% of all the energy consumed in the US.
• Grey sliver of pie chart

• Coal is mostly burned in large powerplants to generate electricity for our homes, factories and businesses.

• There are over 200 coal powerplants in the US.
• Each one burns thousands of tones of coal per year creating significant air pollution AND a toxic coal ash pond.

China uses the majority of the world’s coal by a landslide.

South Africa is the most reliant on coal with it accounting for over 80% of their energy.