When in 1939 war did break out between Germany on the one hand, and Britain and France on the other, President Franklin D. Roosevelt dutifully invoked the Neutrality Acts. However, he believed that this was a fundamentally different war from World War I.
Another advanced coal technology is coal gasification, a process in which coal is converted to a gas (called syngas) before it is burned, making it easier to separate CO2 as a relatively pure gas before power is generated.
In the 20th and 21st centuries, the primary use of coal is to generate electricity, providing 40% of the world's electrical power supply in 2005. Fossil fuels were rapidly adopted during the industrial revolution, because they were more concentrated and flexible than traditional energy sources, such as water power.n the 20th and 21st centuries, the primary use of coal is to generate electricity, providing 40% of the world's electrical power supply in 2005. Fossil fuels were rapidly adopted during the industrial revolution, because they were more concentrated and flexible than traditional energy sources, such as water power.