There’s a mystery afoot! Almost all of the coal we use around the world was created in the same 60 million year period. Before or after that relatively short window of time, not so much. Just what exactly explains this geological mystery?
This episode dives deep into the fascinating and surprising world of coal, exploring how this ancient fossil fuel forms over millions of years through a remarkable geological process involving swamps, pressure, and heat. Josh and Chuck walk through the journey from peat bogs to different types of coal, and then tackle the real mystery: why did most of the world's coal deposits form during one specific geological period hundreds of millions of years ago, and what caused that sudden drop-off? The guys explore competing scientific theories about lignin-eating fungi while also connecting coal's formation to our current climate crisis, showing how extracting and burning coal has dramatically accelerated the release of carbon locked underground since the age of dinosaurs.
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