Understanding the technology our world is filled with is one way that we can gain a level of comfort in our lives. If we have a sense of understanding, instead of confusion, it’s a better way to go through life. Among the four major forms of technology I discuss in this column – transportation, production, communication and energy – energy technology enables us to enjoy great comforts, has an influence on consumer decisions we make, and greatly impacts the environment we live in. Among the three main types of energy, exhaustible energy is important to understand both from a historical perspective and from a current point of view. It greatly shaped the past and is now impacting our future.

Remember that “exhaustible” energy sources are those that are, for all practical purposes, depleted when we use them. The big three exhaustible energy sources are coal, oil and natural gas. Each one of these is typically burned by combining with oxygen to create heat. The heat in turn is used in a variety of other energy conversion processes to power our cars, heat our homes, provide electricity, and drive agricultural production of foods and feeds.

Did you know that just south of Rochelle, starting in Lee and Bureau counties, is the northern tip of the largest coal deposit east of the Mississippi River? Beneath 65 percent of Illinois lies the Illinois Coal Basin, which is a deposit of coal formed 360 to 290 million years ago. It is the result of ancient swamp and peat moss bogs which were covered by silt and slowly converted to coal by high pressure and temperature in a lack of oxygen. The thick layers of dead plant materials undergo chemical changes as they turn into coal.

The only way to truly appreciate its enormous size is to look at a map of it. It you have ever been told that we will run out of coal, think again! There is enough Illinois coal to fuel us for nearly forever!

But unfortunately, it’s not that simple. Numerous problems with coal prevent it from being that magic energy source we can rely on solely for our long-term energy future. To understand this, we need to know about coal quality. There are a variety of types of coal, and they differ in quality based on the amount of time, pressure, and heat they have been subjected to. Low-quality coal has lower concentrations of carbon and higher concentrations of unwanted compounds which cause additional pollution when burned. Higher quality coals have high carbon content and lower (but still significant) quantities of contaminants. The lowest-quality coal is named lignite, the medium quality named bituminous, and the highest quality is anthracite. While high quality coals are found more beneath the land of the western United States, the Illinois Coal Basin is a medium quality bituminous thermal coal, suitable for burning in power plants but not clean enough for other industrial uses.

Coal was discovered in Illinois near Chicago in 1810 but was not mined for production until the 1850s. Because it burns much hotter and more cleanly than wood, it became the fuel of choice to power steam engines and to heat home and factories.

Coal has been mined in 76 of Illinois’ 102 counties, with over 7,400 operating mines since its inception. Cities such as Coal City, Carbondale, Diamond, Carbon Hill, Carbon Cliff, and Glen Carbon are a few of the many towns in Illinois bearing names originating from the coal mining industry choosing to dig for coal in that location. The mascot of Gillespie High School in Gillespie, Illinois is a miner. Many more towns sprung up to support railroads which were built to transport the mined coal to consumers. Lots of money was made by supplying coal to people and businesses in need of easy energy.

Another drawback to coal mining is that it is inherently a dirty and dangerous job for humans. Coal dust can cause lung disease, and working underground carries added risk from the equipment and working conditions. Illinois has the second-worst U.S. coal mine disaster since 1940 — the West Frankfort explosion in 1951 — and the second-worst mining disaster ever in U.S. history with the Cherry Mine fire in 1909. Hundreds of lives were lost in each disaster due to the difficulties of getting miners out of the deep holes in the ground where they worked.

Because of the type of work mining is, it attracted immigrants from Chicago and other large cities in the eastern United States, as well as from throughout eastern Europe who came seeking steady work and the opportunity to advance themselves and their families freely through their hard work. Mining jobs were typically those that established businesspeople and farmers would not consider, though they relied heavily on the energy that the coal provided. Much of the Illinois River Valley is populated with families whose ancestors were drawn to work in the mines, and the cultural influence the mines brough about is fascinating and remarkable.

As if those problems weren’t enough, another big problem caused by abandoned mines is the sinking of the land surface above the mines when the earth above the hollow mine structures collapses down. This sinking is called subsidence. Subsidence is obviously a big problem for homes and buildings built on the land affected. As the land sinks, serious structural damage is caused. Though government intervention has brought about laws which now attempt to protect and compensate those people who own buildings affected by subsidence, it is still a challenge for both abandoned mines and those in current production.

Illinois coal production is now a shrinking industry compared to its past, but it still produces great quantities of coal and is a leading supplier of bituminous thermal coal for the United States and the rest of the world. Stay tuned for more information about the current state of Illinois coal production.

Kurt Wolter has studied and taught technology, including production, transportation, energy, and communication, for over 30 years. He enjoys trying to understand technology and its past, present, and future while also attempting journalism. He can be reached at technohistory100@gmail.com.