Coal is a fossil fuel formed in ecosystems where plant remains were preserved by water and mud from oxidation and biodegradation, and which its chemical and physical properties have been changed as a result of geological action over time, thus sequestering atmospheric carbon.

Coal is a readily combustible black or brownish-black rock. It is a sedimentary rock, but the harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure. It is composed primarily of carbon and hydrogen along with small quantities of other elements, notably sulphur. Coal is extracted from the ground by coal mining, either underground mining or open pit mining (surface mining).

considered to be a precursor of coal, has industrial importance as a fuel in some countries, for example, Ireland and Finland. Peat also referred to as brown coal, is the lowest rank of coal and used almost exclusively as fuel for electric power generation. Jet is a compact form of lignite that is sometimes polished and has been used as an ornamental stone since the Iron Age. Lignite whose properties range from those of lignite to those of bituminous coal and are used primarily as fuel for steam-electric power generation. Additionally, it is an important source of light aromatic hydrocarbons for the chemical synthesis industry. Sub-Bituminous

dense mineral, black but sometimes dark brown, often with well-defined bands of bright and dull material, used primarily as fuel in steam-electric power generation, with substantial quantities also used for heat and power applications in manufacturing and to make coke. Bituminous Coal Anthracite Coal the highest rank; a harder, glossy, black coal used primarily for residential and commercial space heating. It may be divided further into metamorphically altered bituminous coal and petrified oil

AVAILABILITYAVAILABILITY OFCOALOFCOAL

At the present rate of extraction, coal and lignite resources in India are expected to last for about 140 years

About 92 percent of the coal is used for generating electricity. Except for a small amount of net exports, the rest of the coal is used, as a basic energy source in many industries, including, steel, cement and paper. The four major uses of coal are: FOR ELECTRIC POWER Coal is used to generate almost half of all electricity produced in the United States. Besides electric utility companies, industries and businesses with their own power plants use coal to generate electricity. Power plants burn coal to make steam. The steam turns turbines which generate electricity.

FOR INDUSTRY A variety of industries use coal's heat and by-products. Separated ingredients of coal (such as methanol and ethylene) are used in making plastics, tar, synthetic fibers, fertilizers, and medicines. The concrete and paper industries also burn large amounts of coal.

FOR MAKING STEEL Coal is baked in hot furnaces to make coke, which is used to smelt iron ore into iron needed for making steel. It is the very high temperatures created from the use of coke that gives steel the strength and flexibility for products such as bridges, buildings, and automobiles.

FOR EXPORT In 2006, 49.6 million short tons, or about four percent of the coal mined, was exported to other countries from the United States. Coal is exported to many different countries, but most trade is with Canada, Brazil, the Netherlands, and Italy. More than half of coal exports are used for making steel. Coal exports have been generally shrinking in the past 10 years, while the amount of coal imported from other countries has been growing. In 2006, about 36.2 million short tons of coal were imported from other countries. Most of these imports (from Colombia, Venezuela, and Indonesia) were shipped to electric power producers along the U.S. coastlines.

There are a number of adverse environmental effects of coal mining and burning, specially in power stations. These effects include: Release of carbon-di-oxide and methane, both of which are greenhouse gases, which are causing climate change and global warming according to the IPCC. Coal is the largest contributor to the human-made increase of CO 2 in the air. Generation of hundred of millions of tons of waste products, including fly ash, bottom ash, flue gas desulfurization sludge, that contain mercury, uranium, thorium, arsenic, and other heavy metals. Acid rain. Interference with groundwater and water table levels.

Impact of water use on flows of rivers and consequential impact on other land-uses. dust nuisance. Subsidence above tunnels, sometimes damaging infrastructure. Rendering land unfit for other uses. Coal-fired power plants without effective fly ash capture are one of the largest sources of human-caused background radiation exposure. Coal-fired power plants shorten nearly 24,000 lives a year, including 2,800 from lung cancer. Coal-fired power plant releases emissions including mercury, selenium, and arsenic which are harmful to human health and the environment.

More emphasis on use of washed coal. Strict implementation of MOEF stipulations. Proper restoration of degraded land due to open cast mining.

Use of clean coal technology like IGCC.

Firewood is any wood like material that is gathered and used for fuel. Generally, firewood is not highly processed and is in some sort of recognizable log or branch form. Firewood is a so called renewable resource. However, demand for this fuel can outpace its ability to regenerate on local and regional level. For example in some places in the world and through history, the demand has led to desertification. Good forestry practices and improvements in devices that use firewood can improve the the local wood supplies. As a Bio fuel, some consider firewood to be a form of solar energy and to be relatively carbon neutral.

Firewood is, as the name suggests, used as a source of fuel. Also known as Wood Fuel

Wood fuel is wood used as fuel. The burning of wood is currently the largest use of energy derived from a solid fuel biomass. Wood fuel can be used for cooking and heating, and occasionally for fuelling steam engines and steam turbines that generate electricity. Wood fuel may be available as firewood (eg. logs, bolts, blocks), charcoal, chips, sheets, pellets and sawdust. The particular form used depends upon factors such as source, quantity, quality and application. Sawmill waste and construction industry by-products also include various forms of lumber tailings. Wood may be burned in a furnace, stove, fireplace, or in a campfire, or used for a bonfire. Wood is the most easily available form of fuel, requiring no tools in the case of picking up dead wood, or little tools, although as in any industry, specialized tools, such as skidders and hydraulic wood splitters, have evolved to mechanize production.

Burning wood produces smoke. The amount of smoke varies depending mainly on two factors: 1.Dryness of the wood 2.Efficiency of Burning Modern stoves are designed to produce little smoke if used properly. Some stoves have a catalytic 'after-burner', a ceramic honeycomb in which smoke and other particles are consumed.

Wood comes from trees. A great many of the world's trees have been destroyed to obtain either timber, wood chips (for paper pulp), or firewood. The loss of trees is resulting in environmental problems such as: increased erosion, increased flooding, soil salinisation, and eventual shortage of timber, pulp and firewood. Using Non-Conventional Sources Of Energy Dead wood and hollows in old trees provides habitats for various animals and fungi. Rotting wood provides ideal sites for the establishment of some other plants. If dead wood is collected as firewood, habitat is lost. Wood contains minerals such as phosphorus that are valuable plant nutrients. Phosphorus is already being removed from rural land and dumped in city sewers via cropping; this removal of nutrients from soil is unsustainable. Using Non-Conventional Sources Of Energy

Burning Of Wood Leads To Large Scale Production of Carbon-di-Oxide gas which is a greenhouse gas and thus contributes to global warming. While carbon-dioxide is also produced by burning wood, it is reabsorbed by growing the trees that produce replacement wood. So long as the net amount of wood in the world remains constant, no net carbon-dioxide is released into the atmosphere by burning firewood.

There is an inter-relationship between firewood, overpopulation, and production of greenhouse gas and smoke: Overpopulation results in excessive consumption and leads to a shortage of firewood. Burning of firewood in areas that have high population densities results in air pollution within those areas. Overpopulation makes firewood less desirable as a source of heating in the short term, and make fossil fuels more desirable in the short term, while increasing the consumption rate of fossil fuels and making their use impossible in the longer term. Overpopulation combined with increased consumption of fossil fuels drives the man-made greenhouse component. Greenhouse is another reason why population levels should be minimized. There is some trade-off between local air pollution (smoke) and pollution of the whole atmosphere (greenhouse carbon-dioxide) in the choice of burning wood or fossil fuels.