1. By Chris Roos, Chris Tracy, and Ben Lanning Hour 5

2. How it Works Coal is a combustible sedimentary rock Formed from dead plant matter Most commonly burned to generate heat, creating steam that spins turbines, generating electricity Chris Roos

3.  The cost to make a coal power plant is around $780 million  Has been known to be the cheapest fossil fuel  Cost is around $52.00 per short ton  Price of coal has generally increased in the past decade Chris Tracy

4.  China is the country that uses the most coal  The U.S. is a close second place  China=1,310,000,000 short tons  U.S.=1,060,000,000 short tons  These two countries use around 3 ½ times as much coal as the third place country, India Chris Tracy

5. Ideal location Coal is located in many places around the U.S. but none is to be found in the state of Minnesota, the nearest reserves are located in Iowa, Illinois and North Dakota. Ben Lanning

6. Environmental Effects Largest contributor to manmade CO 2 emissions Releases ash and other waste products Contributes to global climate change Chris Roos

7. Pros and Cons Pros: Plentiful Resource, U.S. owns 25 percent of the worlds known coal reserves. Inexpensive compared to other energy sources. Versatile, it can be turned into a liquid or gas forms which burn cleaner than the solid form. Cons: Pollution from coal is widespread, leads to acid rain. Can be a health hazard to those living near the plants that process it. It is also a non- renewable resource and so we have access to a finite amount of it. Ben Lanning

8. Works Cited “Coal.” 3 April 2012 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal “Coal.” 2 April 2012 http://205.254.135.7/coal/