THE END OF CHEAP COAL

Just the thing we need, in a way–the pricing of coal in no way reflects its true environmental cost.  But there’s plenty of bad news to go along with that–with the devalued dollar, US coal is increasingly being exported, which is destroying our landscape and pumping even more CO2 into the air as the stuff is hauled halfway around the world before being burned….

from the New York Times…

By CLIFFORD KRAUSS

Published: March 19, 2008

These days, people really are taking coals to Newcastle.

 That flow is part of a vast reorganization of the global coal trade that is making the United States a major exporter for the first time in years — and helping to drive up domestic prices of the one fossil fuel the nation has in abundance.

Coal has long been a cheap and plentiful fuel source for utilities and their customers, helping to keep American electric bills relatively low.

But rising worldwide demand is turning American coal into another hot global commodity, with domestic buyers having to compete with buyers from countries like Germany and Japan.