I agree it's destructive, but it is actually classified as semi-renewable because it takes "only" a thousand years or so to develop (where oil is millions). In the case at hand, we were discussing a "dark ages" scenario where we end up regressing a bit. I was just bringing up that there are alternatives to coal (also destructive).

FYI peat covers approximately 2% of the earths surface, and around 7% of it is used in agriculture, gardening, and energy[1].

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peat