Coal
A description of the resource
Coal is a non-renewable resource. Coal is black and really hard. Coal is made up of hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, carbon, etc. Coal is the largest source of energy worldwide. Coal has been burned to create electricity and heat. Coal can be used to power stuff. There are many different types of coal.
A response outlining why we need to use this resource?
Coal is important to people worldwide. Most people use it for electricity, heating, etc. there are different types of coal coking coal, thermal coal, etc. Coking coal is used to make cars, trucks, etc. Thermal coal is used for televisions, fridges, computers, etc.
An outline of the process of harvesting/using/extracting the resource
To get coal you need to mine. Coal can be mined using open cut mining or underground mining, depending on how far underground the coal seam sits. Coal is extracted using one of two major techniques surface mining, and underground mining. The Illawarra, coal is mined using underground mining techniques from the seam which is up to 550 meters below the surface.
A description of specific impacts that harvesting/using/extracting this resource has on people and the environment?
A description of what can be done to reduce the severity of the negative 'impacts' given that the 'impacts' of harvesting/using/extracting are negative.
We should mine coal without using machines that pollutes the air. If tin cans are efficiently recycled less material needs to be mined to make cans. Use recycled materials instead of mined materials. Mines can be made so that they produce less waste or use less toxic chemicals.