Coal Horror Show

The End of Energy:

But the problems with coal emissions do not end with [acid rain]. Sulfur dioxide, although invisible, deflects light – and it is one of the main reasons that average visibility in the eastern United States is only 14 miles. Burning coal also produces one-quarter of the nation’s nitrogen oxide, an important contributor to smog, and coal emissions have led to high mercury levels in fish, causing brain damage to fetuses and children. One study…estimates that power plant emissions kills more than 30,000 people each year…