Coal forms over millions of years from the remains of dead plants and animals. It is collected through underground or surface mining methods. We depend on coal as an important resource because it provides electricity, heat, and is used in manufacturing industries. However, coal mining and the factories that use coal for energy can pollute the air and water and damage habitats. Alternative energy sources like solar and wind could help manage this non-renewable resource more sustainably.

1. Finite Times
We live on a planet with finite resources.
How much do you know about coal?
jdjkf
Coal comes from under the earth’s surface. People collect it by digging very deep under the earth’s
surface which is called the under ground mining. Another kind of mining is just under the earth’s surface
witch is called surface mining.
Coal is actually made from the dead animal and plants from along time ago. Then, over thousands of
years, soil, water, fallen rocks and all those things covered the dead animals and plants then millions of
years later, the soil and rocks kept on covering the animals and plant. At that time the dead things from
along long time ago changed to the natural resource called coal.
A Grade 4 Publication Summer 2013
How is coal collected & modified?

2. ;
Summer 2013
2
A Grade 4 Publication
Fast Facts
Why do we depend on the coal industry?
This is a very valuable resource because people use it for electricity, to heat rooms, cook
food, make medicine, plastic, steel and concrete.
Communities depend on coal industry because the world use over 5.3 billion tons of
coal every year. 3 quarters is used to make electricity. There isn’t any other fossil fuel
that is used more than coal. For China, Australia and Russia coal mining is a big
export, so it makes lots of jobs for the country.
How could this resource be managed
better?
What is the impact of this industry?
This is industry is not sustainable because the factory that
make energy with coal use many fossil fuels, also it make the
river and the air polluted. The mining can take away habitats.
This industry also harms the environment because the bad
gases like Carbon dioxide, Sulphur dioxide and Nitrous
dioxide can cause global warming, rain acid and smog.
We could save our use of this resource by using other
kinds of ways to make electricity like the solar panels and
windmills.
The world use more than 5.3
billion tons of coal every
year.
Coal is mined in more than
100 countries.
Australia sells more than 240
million tons of coal each
year.