Jeff Goodell's book on the coal industry from the mines that mine it to the power plants that burn it is fascinating. He looks at many different social and environmental aspects of coal production such as dangerous coal mines into the east that continue to kill miners to the coal burning power plants that continue to release as many toxins as they did in the 1960s.

Many of us know that coal mining particularly in the east where the coal is deep in the ground destroys mountains and livelihoods. Leaking impoundments ponds and mountain-top removal debris poison ground water and cause water to flood homes and farms in the valleys. Minor storms can create major disasters with traditional watersheds being filled with mountaintop coal removal debris.

This is a real problem. He gives stories about people whose lives have been destroyed by coal. He also talks about shoddy mine inspections and dangerous conditions that are particularly prevalent in eastern mines. Miners lives are given up unnecessarily for the pursuit of profit in marginal mines often in ways skirting around or violating state and federal laws.

Coal power plants are dirty. Most of them have been built or designed before New Source Review came in effect under court cases enforcing the Clean Air Act of 1970. They have no scrubbers or systems to reduce sulfur dioxide pollution that causes acid rain nor do they control mercury. Many of the voluntary efforts of power companies have reduced emissions more then government regulation.

If the story is one of anything, it is how truly lose government regulations of power plant emissions are in practice. There are all kinds of laws and regulations on the books when it comes to emissions, and many of them have made significant change. On the other hand, they are not as strict as the public perception that has been given to the public.

His closing thesis covers the themes of the book:

“But we don't need to destroy our world, just reinvent it. In the coming decades, the great danger is not that the world will be burn more coal – that's a given – but that we will burn it badly, cheaply, exploitatively.”

He argues there is a choice. Coal plants are environmentally troublesome and destructive, but it can be less destructive with adequate regulation. Coal plants will continue to release twice as much carbon dioxide emissions as natural gas plants per each unit of power generated. That said, with new coal gasification plants we can get 10% more energy out of coal and far less mercury and sulfur dioxide. Likewise, but installing scrubbers on plants for slight cost can greatly reduce carbon dioxide and

This is an excellent book that takes into consideration a variety of perspectives both nationally and internationally. It not is biased against any one perspective, though it believes that we can clean up coal and move away from it with progressive regulation. It does not advocate that we get away from coal tomorrow, but instead look towards cleaning it up and looking towards alternative sources when ever practical.