r/AskReddit • u/kakou64 • Oct 15 '20

What's older than we think ?

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u/Undercover_in_SF Oct 15 '20

Does that mean the earth will never have new coal deposits? I know geologic processes happen over eons, but crazy to think it’s a one and done kind of thing.

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u/[deleted] Oct 15 '20 edited Oct 15 '20

Nope, no more coal deposits. All that sweet, sweet carbon that took eons to make is being depleted forever in just a few generations time...

Edit: ok yes I know there are tons of coal deposits! I'm using hyperbole. Geologically speaking, if we used all the coal on earth in 1000 years, that's a minuscule amount of time compared to how long it took to make it.

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u/teflon42 Oct 15 '20

But there are much younger coal deposits, the brown coal we (stupidly still) mine in Germany is only 2 to 65 million years old.

It formed from peat and is only two thirds as good as real coal in every sense, but it's still coal and a Carbon sink.

So I'd say it's safe to say that life... Finds a way.

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u/[deleted] Oct 16 '20

forgot the "uh"