, Columnist
Coal Is the Junk Food of Global Energy
Some nations just want cheap fixes – though the healthier choices keep getting cheaper.
Coal, basically.
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Coal is an anachronism that also happens to be the single largest source of electricity on the planet. Some of its resilience reflects pure politics (“beautiful clean coal”). But there’s another aspect more akin to that guilty pleasure that floods through you when you devour a hamburger.
Coal is the junk-food of energy; ubiquitous, relatively cheap, and providing a big slug of calories. Yet with its attendant emissions (including carbon), ash ponds and mining scars, it’s not the healthiest choice. Like you, though, sometimes a country wants energy fast and doesn’t want to pay for fine dining.