Coal

Coal is an organic rock that is burned to create electricity. It is also used in the making of steel, medicines, pesticides, fertilizers, and contains useful chemicals. Coal is made primarily of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. Coal is made from prehistoric plant organisms that died, decomposed and were buried and covered in sediment on the Earth’s crust for millions of years. This occurred during the Carboniferous Period of time, which was about 290 to 360 million years ago. As the layers of sediment increased over the decomposed plant matter, the pressure and heat increased. Over different stages of time, in which the heat and pressure increased, the decomposed plant material changed into a solid known as coal. This process takes millions of years.

Coal is found and formed in what is known as coal seams. Coal is ground and burned to produce steam. The steam turns turbines connected to a generator, which produces electricity. There is an after affect to burning coal for electricity. Burning the coal releases the gas carbon dioxide, which is also known as a greenhouse gas. The greenhouse gases build up in the ozone layer and create what is called the greenhouse effect where none of the heat from the Earth can escape and the Earth surface warms. This could have an impact on all living things. Many environmentalists are worried about this issue and scientists are coming up with alternatives to burning coal to generate electricity, like solar power and wind power.