How Plentiful Is Coal?
Coal supplies in the United States are far more plentiful than domestic oil or natural gas; they account for 95 percent of the country’s fossil fuel reserves and more than 60 percent of the world’s fuel reserves. The United States has about 275 billion tons of recoverable coal, which could last us more than 250 years if we continue using coal at the same rate as we use it today. In addition, the United States has more than 25 percent of the world’s estimated coal reserves. To meet energy and metallurgical needs, the United States mines over a billion tons a year of coal. The rest of the world mines another 4 billion tons per year.
