COAL AND A BIT OF HISTORY

Red and Blue Coals, 30" x 30", Acrylic

  Although this painting is not quite finished, I wanted to post it in order to continue showing works I am currently doing that focus on coal.  I am also finding that during my painting breaks  I have been using the time to read about the history of coal; study about the problems currently associated with the burning and transporting of coal; and learn about the  ways people are starting to slowly shift the world's dependence on coal and other fossil fuels as energy sources by developing a variety of alternatives.  

Here is a tidbit of coal history from www.ecology.com.  I am sure you all know this, but I found it interesting.   "Although the fossil fuel coal had been used as a fuel since 1,000 B.C., it wasn’t until the arrival of the Industrial Revolution from the mid-1700s through the 1800s that coal began to replace biomass (essentially wood) as the primary source of energy.  The Industrial Revolution also marks the beginning of an era when the world human population started to explode. Indelibly tied together, both energy consumption and population growth have experienced exponential growth with few exceptions since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. As the population increased, energy demands increased with greater intensity".