It reshaped the planet. It backed the rise of modern civilization—factories, railroads, skyscrapers, all humming thanks to coal’s raw, relentless energy.

But every hero has a shadow. And coal? It was the shadow. A dark lord in disguise, cloaked in smoke, silently destroying the very world it helped build.

Welcome to 1000whats—where we dive into the stories and science behind the energy that built our world… and might just be burning it down.

Shall we dig in?

What is coal?

Coal, in a nutshell, is like the grumpy grandparent of the rock family. It’s old, it’s been under a lot of pressure, and a bit problematic at family gatherings. 😋

But beneath that crusty exterior lies the fuel that built empires.

Let’s strip away the jokes—just for a moment—and get to the core of it.

A rock with fire in its belly

Coal is a sedimentary rock. It usually shows up in shades of black or brown, and it loves to burn.

When ignited, it releases a lot of heat—more than most fuels of its kind.

That’s why it caught humanity’s eye early on. It wasn’t just flammable. It was efficient.

Coal isn’t just heavy—it’s heavy-duty.

Thanks to its high energy density, coal delivers a big punch for its weight. That made it ideal for moving, storing, and—most importantly—using to power up industries.

The chemistry of coal

Cross-section illustration of coal showing atomic structure with labeled elements: carbon clusters, glowing hydrogen, sulfur with toxic wisps, and scattered oxygen and nitrogen atoms. — Inside coal: a chaotic web of energy-rich carbon and its elemental companions.

Chemically, coal is mostly carbon—and that’s where the energy lives.

But it’s not alone in there. A handful of other elements ride along for the burn.

Here’s what you’ll usually find:

Carbon (C): The powerhouse. Makes up 65–95% of coal by weight.
Hydrogen (H): Part of complex hydrocarbons. Helps it burn clean and hot.
Sulfur (S): Usually 1–3%. When burned, it creates sulfur dioxide—a major air pollutant.
Oxygen (O) & Nitrogen (N): These affect how coal burns and what comes out of the chimney.

Coal doesn’t have a neat, crystalline structure like some other rocks. It’s amorphous—a tangled, chaotic mix of atoms.

Think of it as nature’s slow-cooked molecular stew: aromatic hydrocarbons layered with a mess of organic extras.

Coal is less a rock, more a fossilized chemistry set.

What are the different types of coal?

Coal comes in four main flavors. Each type has a distinct personality, energy level, and environmental footprint. You can think of them as a quirky family—some young and messy, others old and wise.

Let’s meet the crew:

🔍 Coal Types at a Glance

Type	Carbon content (%)	Energy density (MJ/kg)	Maturity level	Typical use ⚡	Vibe
Lignite	25–35%	10–17	Youngest	Local power	Moist, low-energy
Sub-bituminous	35–45%	18–23	Slightly mature	Power plants	Steadier burn
Bituminous	45–86%	24–35	Well-developed	Energy + steel	Versatile workhorse
Anthracite	86–97%	26–33	Most mature	High-heat uses	Cleanest, rare

From baby lignite to old-school anthracite, each coal type has its own story—and baggage.

Why it matters

Energy density isn’t just a geeky number. It tells us how much bang we get for every lump of coal. Higher density = more energy + fewer emissions per unit.

That’s why anthracite, though rare, gets top marks for efficiency. But even the cleanest coal is still a carbon-loaded fossil. Compared to renewables, all coal types trail behind when it comes to sustainability.

Burn less coal, burn smarter coal—but best of all, burn none.

Chart comparing four types of coal—Lignite, Sub-bituminous, Bituminous, and Anthracite—by carbon content and energy density. — Coal types, ranked by power and pollution: from soft lignite to hard anthracite.

How is coal formed?

Coal isn’t just dug up—it’s cooked up, slowly, deep underground. Picture a swampy smoothie getting squashed, baked, and aged until it becomes solid, black energy. This isn’t fast food. It’s nature’s slow roast.

Let’s break down this prehistoric process with a simple, snappy table:

🔬 Coal Formation: Step-by-step breakdown

Stage	What happens 🧪	Visual vibe 🧠	Timeframe ⏳	Coal product 🛒
Peat	Dead plants pile up in swamps. Waterlogged, low-oxygen goo forms.	Like compost in a swampy smoothie.	Thousands of years	Peat (not yet coal)
Squeeze #1	Layers of dirt pile on. Pressure squeezes out water.	A muddy sponge getting stepped on.	Millions of years	Lignite (brown coal)
Bake #2	Heat and pressure keep rising. Things get darker and denser.	A pressure cooker full of moss.	10–50 million years	Bituminous coal
Super bake	Max heat + max pressure = super-dense coal.	Fossil cake, fully baked.	Over 100 million years	Anthracite (hard coal)

It’s basically nature’s version of slow-cooked barbecue. But with ferns.

🕰 Why it takes forever

This whole process spans tens to hundreds of millions of years. That’s why coal is non-renewable—you can’t just whip up a new batch by next Tuesday. We’re burning in decades what took the planet eons to make.

Coal isn’t just old—it’s ancient. It’s older than dinosaurs.

How is coal extracted?

Coal is extracted using two main methods: surface mining and underground mining. The method depends on how deep the coal seam lies—and how much environmental or financial muscle you’re willing to flex.

🧱 Coal extraction methods compared

Feature	Surface mining 🏞️	Underground mining 🕳️
Coal depth	Shallow (near surface)	Deep (far below ground)
Access	Land clearing + excavation	Shafts, tunnels, and adits
Techniques used	Drilling, blasting, overburden removal	Room & pillar, longwall shearers
Recovery rate	Up to 90%	40–60% (varies by method)
Equipment	Draglines, shovels, trucks	Shearers, conveyors, ventilation systems
Safety risk	Lower (less collapse risk)	Higher (roof falls, gas buildup)
Cost	Generally cheaper	More expensive and labor-intensive
Environmental impact	High land disruption	Subsurface damage, sinkholes, gas risks
Rehabilitation	Required land restoration	Sealing shafts and stabilizing voids

If surface mining is a bulldozer with a plan, underground mining is a chess game in a tunnel.

Modern coal mining is safer and cleaner than it used to be—but still carries major environmental and health risks. Dust, gas, runoff, and land damage are part of the bargain, regardless of method.

As the global energy shift accelerates, mining operations face rising pressure to reduce their footprint—or fade out altogether.

How was coal historically used?

Coal didn’t start off as a global power broker. It began, quite humbly, as a way to keep people warm. But over the centuries, it muscled its way into industry, warfare, and politics—becoming the dark heart of the modern world.

🔥 Coal’s first gigs: Heating and hammering

Coal’s story starts in ancient times, long before steam engines or steel mills.

In Roman Britain, people used coal to heat homes and help with metalwork. But for most of history, wood did the job just fine. That changed in medieval Europe. Forests began to vanish. Wood grew scarce—and pricey.

So folks turned to coal, especially in England. The area around Newcastle became the hotbed (pun intended) of early coal mining. It was dirty, smoky, and smelly—but it worked.

Coal didn’t charm anyone. It just got the job done.

🚂 Enter the steam engine: Coal’s big break

The Industrial Revolution hit like lightning in the 18th century, and coal was holding the wire.

At first, steam engines ran to help coal mines stay dry. Then, in a twist of fate, steam engines began to run on coal. That feedback loop—more coal, better engines, more coal—powered an explosion of machines, railways, and factories.

Coal also birthed coke—a purified, carbon-rich fuel crucial for steelmaking. With steel, we built bridges, rails, ships, and skyscrapers.

Coal didn’t just power machines. It forged the skeleton of the modern world.

🏠 Domestic bliss (and smog)

Coal didn’t stop at factories. It crept into homes, too.

Cities like London and Paris relied on it for heating, cooking, and hot water. The side effect? Massive air pollution. London’s infamous “pea-soupers”—thick, toxic fogs—were coal’s dirty fingerprints in the sky.

Coal made homes warmer, but it made the air meaner.

🌍 The politics of black gold

As nations industrialized, coal became more than just energy—it became leverage.

Countries with coal had power. Literally. Control of coal-rich regions like Germany’s Ruhr Valley could tip the balance of war. Colonizers grabbed land not just for spices or gold, but for coal seams buried beneath foreign soil.

Where coal went, empires followed.

🧊 The slow fade of a fiery giant

In the 20th century, coal’s dominance began to crack.

Oil and gas stepped in. Later, solar and wind picked up steam (ironically, without steam). Environmental movements and rising climate awareness shoved coal out of the spotlight—at least in some parts of the world.

But it never fully disappeared. In many countries, coal still keeps the lights on, especially where alternatives remain scarce or expensive.

🔚 From hero to hazard

Coal gave us industry, cities, and global reach. But it also gave us pollution, carbon emissions, and climate consequences. Its history is a masterclass in human innovation—and a cautionary tale about burning through resources without looking back.

How is coal used today?

Coal may have lost some of its glow in climate conversations, but in the real world? It’s still burning hot.

Despite decades of cleaner alternatives, coal remains a heavyweight in global energy production—especially where affordability and industrial might matter more than air quality.

Let’s break down where coal is still flexing its muscles today.

⚡ Powering the planet (still)

Coal’s biggest gig? Making electricity.

Coal-fired power plants work like giant kettles. You burn coal, make steam, spin turbines, and boom—electricity. It’s old-school, but it still gets the job done.

As of 2023, coal generates around 36% of the world’s electricity. That makes it the #1 single source of power worldwide.

We’ve sent humans to space, but we still boil water with rocks.

The process hasn’t changed much: grind coal, burn it, make steam, spin a turbine. Efficiency has improved, but the basic recipe is still 19th century.

🏭 Fueling industry

Coal isn’t just about lightbulbs. It’s also the muscle behind heavy industry.

In cement production, coal keeps kilns hot enough to melt rock into clinker—the magic dust that makes cement solid. It also shows up in:

Paper mills 📄
Chemical factories 🧪
Pharmaceutical plants 💊

Anywhere you need reliable, high heat, coal is probably lurking in the background.

🔩 Forging steel

Coal plays a special role in steelmaking. Not just as fuel—but as a chemical tool.

First, coal is turned into coke (a carbon-rich rock cousin). Then coke is used in blast furnaces to extract iron from ore. The carbon monoxide from the coke acts like a bouncer—kicking the oxygen out of the iron ore and leaving pure, molten iron behind.

No coal, no coke. No coke, no steel. No steel, no cities.

📊 Coal refuses to retire

If you thought coal was fading out, think again. Here’s what the real-world data says:

Coal consumption by region (1965–2023)
Asia Pacific dominates the coal scene, even as others try to phase it out.

* Energy Institute – Statistical Review of World Energy (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. “Coal consumption” [dataset]. Energy Institute, “Statistical Review of World Energy” [original data]. Retrieved June 25, 2025 from https://archive.ourworldindata.org/20250624-125417/grapher/coal-consumption-by-region.html (archived on June 24, 2025).

While Europe and North America have scaled back, Asia Pacific has gone full steam ahead. In fact, the region now dominates global coal use—driven by industrial growth, population demand, and energy security concerns.

Even modern economies still lean heavily on coal. Why? Because it’s cheap, abundant, and—despite its environmental flaws—deeply embedded in the energy systems of many countries.

Coal isn’t just a relic. In much of the world, it’s still the engine.

Pros and cons of coal: A full-picture view

🌟 What’s (still) good about coal?

For all its smoke and grime, coal was once the MVP of energy. It fueled empires, lit cities, and powered industries into the modern era. And while it’s now viewed as the grumpy elder of the energy family, coal still has a few strong cards to play.

💼 Why coal still has fans

Advantage	Description	Analogy or impact 💡
Abundance & access	Coal is everywhere—from the U.S. to China to Russia. It’s the peanut butter of energy: always in the cupboard.	Keeps nations energy-independent.
Cost-effective	Digging up and burning coal is cheap—really cheap—compared to other fuels or shiny new renewables.	Budget-friendly for developing economies.
Reliable & stable	Wind stops. Sun sets. But coal? It keeps burning. It’s the 24/7 diner of energy.	Maintains base-load power.
Built-in infrastructure	We’ve already built the roads, plants, and pipelines. Coal has its own economy.	Transitioning is expensive.
Jobs & local economy	Coal puts food on the table in mining towns. It’s not just energy—it’s employment.	Boosts rural and industrial economies.

Coal: Not clean. Not trendy. But when it comes to raw utility, it’s still punching above its weight.

The dark side of coal: Environmental impacts

And now, we flip the coin. If coal’s upsides are practical and economic, its downsides are environmental and planetary in scale. This is where the story turns from underdog hero to tragic antihero.

🏭 Pollution in the air

Pollutant	Source from coal 🔥	Effect on health & planet 🌫️
Sulfur dioxide (SO₂)	Emitted during combustion	Acid rain, respiratory issues
Nitrogen oxides (NOx)	High-temp burning	Smog, asthma, heart disease
Particulate matter	Tiny soot particles	Lung cancer, strokes, chronic illness
Mercury	Trace in coal	Neurological damage, water contamination

Each puff of coal smoke is a chemistry lesson—and a warning.

🌡️ The CO₂ Giant

Year	CO₂ from coal (billion tons)	Share of global CO₂ emissions
2022	15.22	~41.6%

Coal is the single biggest emitter of carbon dioxide, the climate change accelerant. It’s like throwing a blanket over the planet—every hour, every day.

Coal doesn’t just warm your house. It’s warming the entire Earth.

💧 Water woes

Water impact	What happens	Why it’s a problem 💧
Dewatering	Groundwater pumped out to reach coal	Dries out aquifers and ecosystems
Stream diversion	Rivers rerouted for surface mining	Destroys aquatic life
Toxic wastewater	Cleaning coal releases chemical sludge	Pollutes rivers, lakes, and drinking sources

Think of it like pouring bleach into a fish tank—except the tank is a river.

🏞 Land degradation

Coal mining leaves literal scars.

Mining method	Environmental impact	Long-term damage 🌍
Surface mining	Clears forests, removes topsoil	Habitat loss, erosion, aesthetic ruin
Underground	Causes sinkholes, damages bedrock	Disrupts ecosystems and local infrastructure

Coal bruises the Earth. And some of those bruises may never heal.

🧨 The ash problem

Byproduct	What’s in it	Why it’s scary ☢️
Coal ash	Arsenic, lead, mercury, and more	Can leak into groundwater and soil
Disposal sites	Often unlined or poorly maintained	Risk of spills, contamination, health crises

Coal ash is the party that won’t leave. Long after the power plant shuts down, the waste remains—toxic and troublesome.

A dirty dilemma

Coal is a paradox. It built our modern world but threatens the future of that world. It’s reliable, cheap, and everywhere—but also dirty, dangerous, and disruptive.

The challenge? Managing the phase-out without leaving communities in the dark—literally or economically.

Coal isn’t just a resource—it’s a responsibility.

And yet… we’re still digging.

Global coal production by country, 1900–2023

* Energy Institute – Statistical Review of World Energy (2024); The Shift Data Portal (2019) – with major processing by Our World in Data. “Coal production” [dataset]. Energy Institute, “Statistical Review of World Energy”; The Shift Data Portal, “Energy production from fossil fuels” [original data]. Retrieved June 26, 2025 from https://archive.ourworldindata.org/20250624-125417/grapher/coal-production-by-country.html (archived on June 24, 2025).

Global coal production by country, 1900–2023 – Source: Our World in Data

Despite decades of climate warnings and cleaner alternatives, coal production hit an all-time high in 2023.
China, India, and Indonesia are leading the charge—fueling industries, powering growth, and showing that coal’s exit is far from scripted.

So yes, we talk transition.
But the ground reality? We’re still deep in the coal era.

Final thoughts

Coal isn’t just a rock we burn—it’s a cornerstone of how modern society was built.

We know the science. We see the impacts. The world agrees: we need to move beyond coal. But here’s the twist—coal isn’t just an energy source. It’s woven into economies, cultures, and livelihoods. It powers cities, feeds industries, and puts bread on tables in towns that may not have another option—yet.

Phasing it out isn’t just a technical challenge. It’s a social one.

Coal may be dirty, but the path away from it isn’t clean-cut.

As we talk about transition, we must remember: we’re not just replacing a fuel—we’re untangling an entire system. And systems don’t change overnight.

❓Questions worth asking

Here are some thought-provoking questions to consider, and I’d love to hear your responses in the comments section below:

How do we replace coal without leaving entire communities behind?
Can renewable energy match coal’s reliability without replicating its downsides?
What responsibilities do coal-rich nations have in the global energy transition?
And if coal built our world—who or what will rebuild it without it?

💬 Join the conversation

Got thoughts, questions, or a coal-fueled hot take?

I’d love to hear from you. Your insights help us explore energy’s tangled past—and imagine its cleaner, fairer future.

The story of coal is still being written. Let’s make sure we like where it ends.

Until next time—stay curious, stay critical, and keep asking the hard questions.

Coal: The hero and the villain