Future of coal

I have a column up at Grist about the future of coal in a carbon-constrained economy.

We're gradually learning how the U.S. government will approach our country's energy needs in the carbon-constrained future -- and if you were envisioning a future free of mining the earth for dirty energy, you should probably check the optimism.

Two important hearings on Capitol Hill earlier this month strongly indicated that we're stuck with coal -- and a coal industry generously supported by the American taxpayer -- for the foreseeable future.

Coal industry representatives were invited to explain to key members of the U.S. House of Representatives why the federal government should ply it with hundreds of millions of dollars on top of the fat subsidies it already receives. Said Michael Morris, CEO of American Electric Power, "This is a willing industry, a willing company, a willing people who simply want to have a timeline to allow [carbon capture] technology to develop so that in fact we don't just get a political sound bite, but we get something that works." Well, OK, they want a little more than a timeline -- namely, some sizable handouts.

The willing industry found in some a willing audience.

Give it a read.