Coal has been around for quite a while now, but in the beginning it's use was nearly insignificant. After nearly 200 years since the dawn of the industrial age though, it is well past the time to leave the rest of the coal in the ground and not burn it up in the atmosphere. What we know now and the technology and potential for clean energy is here, yet coal is still being used in abundance.
Coal is the worst pollutant on the planet and still, not much is getting done to abate the practice of scraping it from the Earth and heating our planet with the gases it emits when consumed. So why is it still making companies like Peabody Energy fistfuls of money?
From USA Today:
In the USA, Peabody is perhaps the staunchest opponent of stringent regulations to cap greenhouse gas emissions even as stalwarts such as ExxonMobil and American Electric Power have softened their stances.
A bill to curb global-warming gases fizzled in Congress in June, partly because of opposition from Peabody and the coal industry. It would have forced utilities and others to buy permits to emit carbon, passing the costs to consumers and boosting electric rates up to 45% by 2020.
About 30 coal-fired power plants are under construction around the country, the most in a generation. Peabody, along with partners, is building a $3 billion, 1,600-megawatt coal generator in Illinois, the biggest U.S. coal plant in 25 years.
Polluters like Peabody and their operators like CEO Gregory Boyce thrive on destroying our planet. They talk about how plentiful coal is and how the market needs more energy, but really, all they care about is profit. Seeing the price of coal go up puts a sparkle in their eyes. CEO Boyce claims that stopping our use of coal is akin to "shooting ourselves in the foot" but that is merely a scare tactic. Clean energy is the way to go, Boyce and his cohorts need to be placed on the way out.
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