Illinois bituminous coal 

Central and southern Illinois sit on a vast bed of coal. This coal was first discovered by the French explorer, La Salle (René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle) in 1679 as he made his trip of discovery down the Mississippi River. LaSalle recorded the first use of coal for fuel.

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image from the 2017 DNR report

The University of Illinois has made significant contributions to coal studies. Read Professor Helaine Silverman’s 2023 article, published in Illinois Heritage. Click here.
“Clean Coal” is possible: the Abbott Power Plant on campus!

Other major contributions of the University of Illinois to coal studies: .  AND SEE BELOW —> 

STRIP MINING AND THE ENVIRONMENT

 On April 19, 2021 the United Mine Workers of America published an extraordinary statement in which it acknowledged the end of the coal era and the need to help coal communities transition to
the new energy economy.
Read the statement and the response by economist Paul Krugman by clicking on the hyperlinks.

We call attention to these three articles:
https://extension.illinois.edu/blogs/building-entrepreneurial-communities/2019-09-04-beyond-coal-illinois-just-getting-started
https://ieefa.org/ieefa-u-s-mega-miner-peabody-concedes-american-coal-has-little-value-and-dim-future/
https://psmag.com/environment/does-coal-have-a-future-in-the-united-states

But abandoning a coal mine is not like closing the door of your house and walking away. Read the article below about abandoned mine lands.

An excellent documentary by John Woodall (Principia College) presents the crisis of coal in Alton,IL. where a polluting major coal plant closed. But it left a visually and environmentally blighted landscape in its wake with devastating consequences for the East Alton residents whose town lost its tax base, whose residents lost good paying jobs, and whose air and soil were contaminated.

The 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 26: October 31-November 12) issued yet another death knell for coal.

On the other hand, Prairie State Energy produced a compelling animation (2017) arguing that its community-owned coal plant is producing clean, sustainable energy in addition to jobs and a great contribution to the economy. Here is the PSE video: CLICK

PSE is based in Marissa, in southern Illinois. This is really interesting because Marissa also has adopted solar energy in some of the farm fields. Here is a fascinating 15-minute audio program about the same issue of coal mining in southern Illinois and the potential of solar energy: CLICK

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