Or they could switch to the cleaner burning coal from Western mines. Many switched, and that drove scores of Midwestern mines out of business. Now miners worry a Kyoto treaty could close the rest of the mines by forcing power plants and other coal burners to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by cutting back on coal. Few alternatives Environmentalists have long been pushing for such a change, saying the USA should turn to so-called renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and water power. But for the foreseeable future, the nation will continue using coal, energy experts say, simply because no other substitute is as affordable and available.
Nuclear energy is too unpopular.
Natural gas is abundant, but it would be prohibitively expensive for many coal-burning power plants to switch. The renewable sources are not practical for power generation on a national scale, they say. The key is to use it smarter. No technology yet exists to remove carbon dioxide from coal. If that energy can be used, the argument goes, then the plants would need less coal to do the job.