The use of coal as an energy source has been known for quite a long time, and there are records of burning the fossil fuel dating back to the 2,000-1,000 B.C.E. (Wikipedeia, 2007). Within the United States, the scientific capacity to create usable energies from coal wasn't discovered until the mid-eighteenth century. The discovery of large coal reserves within the Appalachian Mountains helped fuel new technologies such as the steam engine which enabled the Industrial Revolution. New applications for burning coal were subsequently found, and in the late 1800's, entrepreneurs began generating electricity to provide for commercial consumption (Adams 2001). The demand for coal skyrocketed to meet electricity demands for powering cities and industrial plants; thus, the 'coal revolution' began.

In the late 19th century, the United States began burning of coal at incredible rates to maintain electricity demands. In 1899, the coal industry had processed over 250,000,000 pounds of coal (Adams 2001). Throughout the past century, "coal rushes" followed war times of war, and the combustion of coal for electricity played a vital role in securing peace and prosperity. In 1973, the U.S. experienced its first energy crisis when the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) stopped oil shipments (1973 Oil crisis, 2007). Although the crisis had ended and fuel imports resumed, the U.S. began to understand the importance of energy independence.

Although there are minimal oil reserves within the boundaries of the United States, it boasts the world's largest supply of coal. Depending on future consumption rates and the ability to access the entire reserves, calculations have predicted that there are enough coal reserves to last for centuries (Figure 1) (Schrag 2007).

Figure 1. Representation of coal reserves in the United States (National Mining Association.
(Retrieved on Feb. 13, 2005 from NMA.org,)

The Appalachian Mountains are the 'Saudi Arabia' of North America" (Reece 2006), and with increased political instabilities within the Middle East and in other areas of the world along with rampant declining oil reserves, coal is the revitalized fuel source for the future. According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2003 coal production report, the sector produced almost one billion short tons (Adams 2001).

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The electric utility companies are the primary consumers of coal, and they use it to generate the electricity needs of modern society. Over half of the U.S. energy needs are met through coal combustion (figure 2) (Babbitt & Lindner 2005).

Figure 2. U.S. Fossil Fuel Consumption (2006)
Source: Electric Power Monthly (2007).

Coal is king and General Electric states that it is a $25 billion dollar industry (Sioshansi 2005). Despite increased awareness that coal has detrimental environmental and long-term economic consequences, the Bush Administration is focused on the lucrative industry. Despite global concerns of burning fossil fuels, he is proposing "business-as-usual" and intends to revamp the old technology by offering billions of dollars in new subsidies to the coal industry under the "Clean Coal Power Initiative (CCPI)" (Techline 2004). At the same time, the Bush administration has levied environmental and safety regulation at mining facilities (Geller 2003) (West 2007).

Bibliography

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     Encyclopedia. Edited by Robert Whaples.
     < http://eh.net/encyclopedia/article/adams.industry.coal.us > (2007, February 02).

Babbitt, C.W., A.S. Lindner (2005). A life cycle of inventory of coal used for electricity
     production in Florida. Journal of Cleaner Production, 13.

Department of Energy (2004). Clean Coal Power Inititive-Round 2 Selection. Retrieved on Feb.03, 2007     from < http://www.fossil.energy.gov >.

Electric Power Monthly: January 2007 (2007).
     <http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epm/epm_sum.html> (2007, February 01).

Geller, H. (2003). Energy Revolution. Washington, Island Press

Reece, E. (2006). Lost Mountain: Radical Strip Mining and the Devastation of
     Appalachia. New York: Penguin Group.

Schrag, D.P. (2007, February). Sustainability and Energy Perspective: Preparing to
     Capture Carbon. Science.

Sioshanis, F.P. (2005). Global Climate Change: Here to Stay. Utilities Policy, 13.

West, L. (2007). Carbon Dioxide Appeal May Be Most Important Environmental Case in
     Court History. < http://enviornment.about.com/environmentalpolicy > (2007, February13).

Wikipedia (2007). History of Coal Mining.
     <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hisotry_of_coal_mining> (2007, February 14).