Coal - The Beginning

So to start this blog off 'right,' let's begin through a brief introduction: I am one half of a Crystal & Dan team-up (specifically, the Dan half). Our goal? World domination through the coal and natural gas industries. Of course, that's a big step, so we'll start off small by focusing on the coal and natural gas industry within the U.S. state of Arizona.

For the non-Americans seeing this blog, Arizona is located here.

(Aside: our posts might differ in content and might not match up with each other (as we will be focusing on differing aspects and things). Still, it is our hope that you'll soon see the connections between both as this blog evolves.)

In any case, to even begin contemplating that, it's always best to gather as much resources as possible. To me, this means going back in time and seeing why the coal industry even came to be. So, without further ado, let us delve into some historical goodness!

Coal has been used for heating and smelting for an incredibly long time. Records in China indicate that surface mining has been happening since 3500 B.C. To give a comparison, this is before Ancient Egypt was a thing, and the Sahara had yet to become a desert.

So while it was a long-known element, the U.S. didn't really take advantage of its own resources until around 1850, when it began to take over wood as the primary heating source. Fast-forward to more current time (let's say around... 2000), and Arizona is both a state and one of the 26 coal producers (though it produces the least of every other state). Its sole source of coal is Kayenta Mine.

Strip Mine A, Kayenta Mine

According to U.S. Energy Information Administration, this mine provides about 7.5 million short tons of coal to be burned annually at the Navajo Generating Station, one of Arizona's 7 currently running coal-fired power plants. With all their powers combined, these plants generate roughly 25% of the energy produced in the state.

So coal isn't a minor thing in Arizona! Next post, I'll do some research on the key players (READ: the companies, etc.).