I was reading this article in the Washington Post (you might have to sign in to read it) about the world's current coal ills, and I just saw this (I added the emphasis):
In the United States, it is getting harder to license and borrow money to build new coal plants. But Peabody Energy's
chief executive Gregory H. Boyce says foreign demand will sustain
mining output. "Coal is the sustainable fuel best able to close the gap
of growing demand vs. scarce and expensive alternatives," he said at a
conference last month.
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Coal is not sustainable. Not environmentally and not physically. While coal (and oil for that matter) are made through natural earth process, these take millions of years. Our current rate of coal extraction is much greater than the rate of the earth's replenishment so it is NOT SUSTAINABLE.
Also, on the climate side, coal is the dirties of widely used fuels. Many scientists have said that we need to stop emitting carbon dioxide (not freeze emissions, eliminate them) to avoid the next few degrees of Global Warming. Burning coal brings about Climate Change. that is NOT SUSTAINABLE either.
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For more anti-coal talk, check out Hank Green's post about why he blocked a Coal ad on his blog, www.ecogeek.com
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