Robert GALE

Workers shovel coal, China’s most abundant energy resource, in Datong, Shanxi Province. Coal has been used in China since the fourth century, when it was simply excavated from surface deposits. PHOTO BY JOAN LEBOLD COHEN.
Coal has been used in China since at least the fourth century; the country has been mainly dependent on it as a source of energy since around 1,000 CE. Today China is the biggest producer and