Visualizing Environmental Science

Coal 421

Peter Essick/Aurora Photos

Coal

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1. Distinguish between surface mining and
   subsurface mining.


2. Summarize the environmental problems
   associated with using coal.


3. Describe two technologies that can be used to
   make coal a cleaner fuel.

C

oal, the most abundant fossil fuel in the

world, is found primarily in the Northern

Hemisphere (Figure 17.3). Coal was formed

millions of years ago, when the atmospheric

carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) concentration was much higher

than it is now. Ancient plants used energy from the sun to

convert CO 2 into complex organic compounds, at the

same time releasing oxygen into the atmosphere. Many of

these plants were buried when they died, storing carbon

underground. Over a long period of time, pressure and

high temperatures transformed the plant material into

coal, forcing out water and increasing the energy content

of the chemical bonds. The largest coal deposits are in the

United States, Russia, China, Australia, India, Germany,

and South Africa. The United States has 25 percent of the

world’s coal supply in its massive deposits. According to

the World Coal Association, known world coal reserves

could last for more than 100 years at the present rate of

consumption. Coal resources currently too expensive to

develop have the potential to provide enough coal to last

1000 or more years at current consumption rates.

Utility companies use coal to produce electricity,

and heavy industries use coal for steel production. Coal

consumption has surged in recent years, particularly

in the rapidly growing economies of India and China

(Figure 17.4).

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Percentage of proved recoverable

coal reserves, 2008

Asia

and

Oceania

Eastern

Europe

and

Russia

North

America

Western

Europe

Africa Central

and

South

America

Based on data from the Energy Information Administration(EIA).

ˆÃÌÀˆLṎœ˜ÊœvÊVœ>Ê`i«œÃˆÌÃÊUʈ}ÕÀiʣǰÎÊ

Data are presented as percentages of the 2008 estimated
recoverable reserves—that is, of coal known to exist that can
be recovered under present economic conditions with existing
technologies. (The map is color-coded with the bar graph.)

Chinese energy consumption

œ˜Ê̅iÊÀˆÃiÊUʈ}ÕÀiʣǰ{Ê

Workers in Shanxi Province load coal onto trucks. Coal provides

65 percent of China’s energy. Consumption of coal in China,

the highest in the world, may double within 20 years as its

economy grows.