Coal is a black or brown rock that can be ignited and burned to produce energy through heat. Coal is also one of the most used fossil fuels. There are many different varieties of coal, including lignite, subbituminous, bituminous, and anthracite. Brown coal is said to be the youngest of all. (Kentucky Educational Television 2013) Coal is made up of once-living organisms, making it a fossil fuel. (Illinois Coal Association 2013)Coal mining is the separation of deposits from the Earth's surface and crust. (Encyclopedia Britannica 2013) Coal is mined through underground and surface mining. Underground mining involves mining pits and tunnels to obtain coal. Surface mining is the extraction from the ground down to the coal, also called open-pit mining. (RRC Kids World, School House, How is coal mined? 2013) According to New Century Coal the average price of coal in 2009 was approximately $44.47. The price of coal can vary depending on the type of coal used because some coals produce more energy and burn at higher temperatures. Coal used to make iron and steel is more expensive because the coal used for manufacturing is harder to find. (New Century Coal 2013) Coal is used primarily because it is the cheapest of all fossil fuels. We use it because we have an abundance of it in America, so we don't have to import it. We also use it because it has a constant amount of it, so there won't be a big decrease in coal anytime soon. We use coal because it will last long enough for us to create a secondary source of energy to replace it. (Kentucky Foundation 1996-2007) It is made up of plants that have been shown to be up to 400 million years old. The energy that coal gets is mostly carbon. Most of our coal comes from wetlands. The remains of plants and tr...... middle of paper ......oal, A. (2013, October 21). Illinois Coal Association. Retrieved from http://www.ilcoalassn.com/whatiscoal.htmlRRC Kids, W. (2013, October 23). School house. Retrieved from http://www.kids.rrc.state.tx.us/school/classroom/coal/coalmined.html‎New Century, C. (2013, October 24). Coal of the new century. Retrieved from http://www.newcenturycoal.com/newscentre/coalinfo.phpKentucky Coal, E. (2013, October 24). Kentucky Coal Education. Retrieved from http://www.coaleducation.org/q&a/10_reasons_why_coal.htmKentucky, T. (2013, October 24). How coal is formed. Retrieved from http://www.ket.org/trips/coal/agsmm/agsmmhow.htmlCPS, E. (2013, October 25). Energy Cps. Retrieved from https://www.cpsenergy.com/Services/Generate_Deliver_Energy/Coal/coal_ generation.aspExxon, M. (2013, October 25). Coal. Retrieved from https://sites.google.com/site/rhschem3harperle/why-is-coal-important