World's Growing Dependence On Coal Leaving A Trail Of Environmental Devastation

But the growth of coal-burning is also contributing to global warming, and is linked to environmental and health issues ranging from acid rain to asthma. Air pollution kills more than two million people prematurely, according to the World Health Organization. "Hands down, coal is by far the dirtiest pollutant," said Dan Jaffe, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Washington who has detected pollutants from Asia at monitoring sites on Mount Bachelor in Oregon and Cheeka Peak in Washington state. "It is a pretty bad fuel on all scores." To understand the conflict over coal, look at Taiyuan and the surrounding Shanxi Province, the country's top coal-producing region - and one of its most polluted. Almost overnight, coal has turned poor farmers in this city of three million people into Mercedes-driving millionaires, known derisively as "baofahu" or the quick rich. Flashy hotels display chunks of coal in the lobby, and sprawling malls advertise designer goods from Versace and Karl Lagerfeld. Real estate prices have doubled, residents say, and construction cranes fill the skyline. A museum in Taiyuan celebrates all things coal. Amid photos of smiling miners, coal is presented as the foundation of the country's economic development, credited with making possible everything from the railroad to skin care products. ... http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Science/2007/11/05/4632643-ap.html [Proofreader's note: this article was edited for spelling and typos on November 6, 2007]

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