Big Coal (eBook)

Long dismissed as a relic of a bygone era, coal is back - with a vengence. Coal is one of the nation's biggest and most influential industries - Big Coal provides more than half the electricity consumed by Americans today - and its dominance is growing, driven by rising oil prices and calls for energy independence. Is coal the solution to America's energy problems?

On close examination, the glowing promise of coal quickly turns to ash. Coal mining remains a deadly and environmentally destructive industry. Nearly forty percent of the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere each year comes from coal-fired power plants. In the last two decades, air pollution from coal plants has killed more than half a million Americans. In this eye-opening call to action, Goodell explains the costs and consequences of America's addiction to coal and discusses how we can kick the habit.

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New York Times-Bestselling Author:"e;Should be ready by anyone who owns a microwave, or an iPod, or a table lamp, which is to say everyone."e; -Elizabeth Kolbert, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Sixth ExtinctionA Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the YearCoal is still a significant source of power in the United States-and coal mining is still a deadly and environmentally destructive industry. Much of the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere each year comes from coal-fired power plants, and in recent decades air pollution from coal plants has killed more than half a million Americans. In this eye-opening call to action, Jeff Goodell explains the costs and consequences of America's addiction to coal and discusses how we can kick the habit."e;[A] compelling indictment . . . powerful."e; -The New York Times Book Review"e;Goodell's description of the mining-related deaths, the widespread health consequences of burning coal and the impact on our planet's increasingly fragile ecosystem make for compelling reading, but . . . are not what lift this book out of the ordinary. That distinction belongs to Goodell's fieldwork, which takes him to Atlanta, West Virginia, Wyoming, China and beyond."e; -Publishers Weekly (starred review)"e;Goodell does a first-rate job of balancing environmental concerns with interviews from the human faces associated with 'Big Coal'."e; -Library Journal