Coal
By: Kenneth Nelson
Q: What Is Coal?
A:Coal is a fossil fuel formed from the remains of plants that lived and
died millions of years ago, when parts of the Earth were covered with
huge swampy forests. Coal is called a nonrenewable energy source
because it takes millions of years to form.
History Of Coal!
Native Americans used coal long before the first settlers arrived in
the New World. Hopi Indians used coal to bake the pottery they
made from clay. European settlers discovered coal in North America during the first
half of the 1600s. They used very little coal at first. Instead, they relied
on water wheels and burning wood to power colonial industries.
Q: How Coal Is Used?
A:Almost 92 percent of the coal mined in the U.S. today is used to
make electricity. The steel and iron industries use coal for smelting
metals. Other industries use coal, too. Paper, brick, limestone, and
cement industries all use coal to make products. Very little coal is
used for heating homes and buildings.