Burning coal is one of the highest producers of greenhouse gases and other pollutants.

• Mountain Top Removal for coal destroys mountains forever through explosions and destroys thousands of miles of streams. 
• Coal pollution already worsens air quality resulting in more asthma attacks, heat-related deaths, and respiratory complications.
• Carbon pollution contributes to warmer temperatures which is speeding the spread of infectious diseases.
• Coal Plants also emit mercury, sulfur, arsenic, cyanide, soot, and lead which have a disproportionate impact on vulnerable communities.
• Coal companies are not responsible for these health effects or for clean up when coal ash spills and destroys water supplies.
• Coal is the biggest contributor to climate change.

The reason we have continuously updated references covering decades is to show this is settled science and has been obvious for quite awhile. 

For articles like this covering different areas on the environment with over 2,500 references see https://www.newprogs.org/the_environment

References

1-Environmental Integrity Project Report Examines Coal Plants' Costs
2-Obama Knocks Romney for Saying True Things About Coal
3-The Myth of Clean Coa
4-Do Coal Plants Really Kill People?
5-Judge: Coal company can drop retirement benefits for 13,000 workers
6-Energy secretary: Obama committed to role for coal - Energy secretary: Obama serious about coal having a role in 'all of the above' strategy for US

7--Burning the Future
8-Hydrological Impacts of Mountaintop Removal in Appalachia
9-I Love Mountains

10-High Resolution Mountaintop Removal Pictures
11-The Last Mountain

12-Coal Companies Thrilled University Finally Acknowledges Their Voices

13-Breaking: Duke Energy Caught Dumping Wastewater from Coal Ash Lagoon Into Local Watershed

14-Breaking: Duke Energy Coal Ash Spill Pollutes River and Threatens Drinking Water

15-Bumbling, Blame and Bankruptcy in Wake of West Virginia Chemical Spill

16-Coal ash is a dangerous mess. Why isn’t it better regulated?

17-Coal leaves deep, wide wake in West Virginia: Residents speaking out after chemical disaster, decades of anti-regulation rhetoric, industry decline and poverty

18-Scholastic and Big Coal Team Up to Bamboozle 4th Graders

19-How Close do You Live to America’s Dirtiest Power Plants?

20-North Carolina Coal Ash Pond Still Leaking as Feds Launch Criminal Probe

21-Third pipe at Dan River plant leaking coal ash toxins, EPA says

22-Third pipe at Dan River plant leaking coal ash toxins, EPA says

23-Another Coal Chemical Spill Pollutes Public Waterway, This Time in Kentucky

24-CHART: How Many Birds Are Killed By Wind, Solar, Oil, And Coal?

25-Coal Growing Its Share Of Global Energy Mix Despite World's Greening Efforts

26-Louisville Utility Faces $68 Million Penalty for Hidden-Camera Captured Coal Ash Dumping

27-Freedom Industries Stormwater Runoff Trench Overflows - 2 Days in a Row

28-Cashing In On Carbon: How Taxpayer Dollars Greenwash Dirty Energy

29-Environmentalists Say EPA Failed to Defuse ‘Ticking Time Bombs’

30-Obama Just Blew A Chance to Crack Down on Coal - The disposal of cancer-causing coal ash will be lightly regulated, the EPA decided.

31-63,000 Strikes and You're Out? Not in Delaware.

32-New Coal Ash Leaks Discovered at Duke Energy’s Buck Power Plant - Testing Reveals High Levels of Pollutants in Yadkin River – Duke Energy and NC State Officials Have Not Previously Disclosed Leaks

33-The True Cost of Turning on the Lights

34--Japan builds coal plants, calls it a win for the climate

35-Mine Games: How Federal Coal Program Loopholes Can Cheat Taxpayers

36-Rand Paul’s “big coal” lie: The real reason the industry is dying - A coal company says laid off workers can thank President Obama. But coal is dying for reasons well beyond politics

37-SELC coal ash work featured on CBS Evening News

38-The coal industry is so totally screwed

39-Turns out the world’s first “clean coal” plant is a backdoor subsidy to oil producers

40-Coal Baron Matt Ridley is Top Source in Peabody Climate Report to the White House

41-A Bad Week For Coal Mining Industry, Even Worse for Peabody Energy

42-Axa to divest from high-risk coal funds due to threat of climate change: Insurance company to move £350m out of coal companies and triple investments in green technologies

43-Coal-Fired Power Plant Loses Steam by Bigger Pie Forum

44-France's largest insurer divests from coal

45-Guilty as Charged: Duke Energy to Pay Record Fine for Coal Ash Crimes - 'What this admission of guilt does not do is clean up the coal ash that continues to leak into our water supplies, into our rivers.'

46-Meet the Lawyers Who Pushed the Supreme Court to Block Toxic Power Plant Rules

47-The End of Coal?

48-These are the 10 dirtiest power companies in the U.S.

49-This power plant slurps up water for Arizona — and burns 15 tons of coal a minute

50-In Appalachia, the coal industry is in collapse, but the mountains aren’t coming back

51-Arch Coal Nearly Doubled Its CEO Pay As It Lurched To Bankruptcy, Drawing SEC Attention

52-Coal is dying. Who’s going to pay for the cleanup? You are!

53-Taxpayers lose billions to coal subsidies

54-What do you give executives who bankrupted a coal company and screwed over its retirees? Bonuses!

55-When A Coal Company Goes Bankrupt, Who Is Left To Clean Up The Mess?

56-Feds object to bankrupt coal company's $11.9M in executive bonuses

57-Mercury levels in rainfall are rising in parts of North America, study finds

58-As Coal Goes Bankrupt, They Steal From Workers & Screw Environment | PopularResistance.Org

59-Mountaintop removal mining is flattening Appalachia | Grist

60-Peabody Energy’s Financial Death Spiral | Sightline Institute

61-The US coal industry is falling apart. Here's the surprising reason why. - Vox

62-Coal Country Wrestles With Hazardous Water in West Virginia - The Takeaway

63-Lawsuits in Three States Target Groundwater Pollution under Clean Water Act | Circle of Blue WaterNews

64-From Ashes such as these, what can rise?

65-Arch Coal’s Executives Gave Themselves $8 Million… for Failing - Bonuses on Friday, bankruptcy on Monday.

66-Australian river on fire with fracked coal seam gas

67-Big Coal dealt a big blow: Montanans shut down largest mine in North America - Through civil disobedience, local communities have defeated a company once thought invincible. This is their story

68-Coal Companies’ Secret Funding of Climate Science Denial Exposed

69-Coal company paid its execs $8 million in bonuses just before filing for bankruptcy

70-Coal might be on the way out, but toxic coal ash isn’t going away

71-Coal plants use as much water as 1 billion people and consumption set to double: report - World Water Day research finds 44% of coal plants, and 45% of planned coal power plants, in areas of water stress

72-Big Coal Is Bankrupt. Who Will Pay to Clean Up Its Mess? - Regulators treated the coal industry like it was “too big to fail.” Now taxpayers and the environment may pay the price.

73-Peabody’s Bankruptcy: A Giant Falls, But Its Obligations Remain

74-Subsidized to the End: Not Even Corporate Welfare Can Save Big Coal

75-From Montana to the Coast, Coal Dust Threatens Human Health - A new study shows Bellingham and Longview terminals would harm communities along rail route.

76-How economics turned NW coal ports into the walking dead

77-How Montanans Stopped the Largest New Coal Mine in North America - The defeat of what seemed unstoppable—Arch Coal’s Otter Creek mine—marks an encouraging shift in the fight against Big Coal.

78-How to make coal companies pay to clean up their messes

79-Major Milestone: More than 100,000 MW Worth of Coal-Fired Power Plants Retired

80-These Corporations Have Pillaged the Land and Robbed the People

81-With Coal Crashing, Will Polluted Communities Be Left Holding the Bag? Federal law requires coal companies to clean up and reclaim toxic mining sites. But what happens when a coal company's gone bankrupt?

82-World’s largest private coal company could maybe, finally go bust

83-It’s Really Happening: The Collapse of U.S. Coal

84-Coal Companies’ Secret Funding of Climate Science Denial Exposed

85-Coal Companies’ Secret Funding of Climate Science Denial Exposed

86-'We're Dying Like Flies': Sick, Retired Coal Miners Betrayed by GOP Senators - Right-wing senators are blocking bill that would provide pensions for retired workers suffering from years spent in coal mines

87-Coal Ash: 1,000 homes to get new water supply or filtration

88-Communities Uneasy As Utilities Look For Places To Store Coal Ash

89-Contaminated water seeps from old ash pond pipe at Duke plant on Lake Wylie

90-As coal companies sink into bankruptcy, who will pay to clean up their old mines? Peabody is the latest to make big promises to a bankruptcy judge.

91-Dangerous Metals Found in Latest Duke Energy Coal Ash Spill

92-Dirty Little Secrets of Clean Coal

93-Erin Brockovich, EWG Weigh In on North Carolina Coal Ash Debate

94-Testimony: Health director covered up cancer-causing water in North Carolina

95-The time to implement smart coal ash disposal policy is now

96-Why Uncle Sam needs to clean up coal country

97-The coal industry is collapsing, and coal workers allege that executives are making the situation worse

98-Trump Admin. Halts Mountaintop Mining Health Risks Study by National Academies - West Virginia officials had asked for the study after scientists described increased risks of cancer and birth defects near surface coal mining operations.

99-'Fossil fuels are dead,' says CSX railroad chief: no more new trains for coal, ever

100-Trump Energy Dept's Pro-Coal, Pro-Nuclear Report 'Not Worth Paper It's Written On'  Critics say agency report is little more than "propaganda" and "talking points memo for coal and nuclear subsidies"

101-After a coal plant closed, children's health improved

102-Coal cleanup underway on Clark Fork weeks after train wreck

103-Coal Exports: Hazardous to Your Health - New study points to serious health effects near coal terminals and rail lines.

104-Enough tiptoeing around. Let’s make this clear: coal kills people

105-Pollution could increase as Rauner EPA moves to rescue coal plants

106-Sea levels to rise 1.3m unless coal power ends by 2050, report says - University of Melbourne paper combines latest understanding on Antarctica and current emissions projection scenarios

107-Coal Lobby fights black-lung tax as disease rates surge

108-Spain wants to phase out coal plants without hurting miners   Under its new strategy, the country is ensuring that the over 1,000 miners who stand to be affected will be able to transition into new jobs in renewables and environmental restoration.

109-Blood coal: Ireland’s dirty secret   Burning coal is the single largest contributor to global climate breakdown. Human rights violations at the sites of fossil fuel extraction are often hidden.

110-Even in Indiana, new renewables are cheaper than existing coal plants

111-As 67 coal plants in 22 states report coal ash violations, greens fear prolonged cleanup

112-Six barges carrying coal have sunk into the Ohio River   The sunken barges are spilling tons of coal into the water stration project, has exceeded the amount of power it was originally planned to produce

113-This Indiana utility may have just put the final nail in coal's coffin

114-'Dangerous' mercury has skyrocketed since coal plants built

115-Blindsided: Eagle Butte, Belle Ayr mines send workers home, close

116-Coal left Appalachia devastated. Now it’s doing the same to Wyoming.  Vulture capitalists are sucking value from a dying industry.

117-For a Texas Ranching Family, Toxic Coal Ash Pollution Hits Home  A Texas family’s ranch has been found to be one of the most contaminated coal ash sites in the country. Environmental groups say the pollution — and the ranchers’ bitter legal battle to stop it — is a stark example of the nation’s ongoing coal ash crisis.

118-Global investment in coal tumbles by 75% in three years, as lenders lose appetite for fossil fuel  More coal power stations around the world came offline last year than were approved for perhaps first time since industrial revolution, report says

119-How Germany closed its coal industry without sacking a single miner

120-Hundreds of Workers Who Cleaned Up the Country’s Worst Coal Ash Spill Are Now Sick and Dying  Ten years after the disaster at a Tennessee power plant, the cleanup crew is seeking justice. At the same time, the Trump administration is weakening protections for this toxic pollution.

121-Major US coal company files for bankruptcy, putting over 1,000 jobs at risk

122-New US Solar Energy Research Deals Another Body Blow To Coal

123-New PacifiCorp analysis shows at least $500M saved with early coal closures

124-The Media Uses Coal Miners To Attack the Green New Deal—Then Ignores Their Pension Fight  In 34 stories about coal miners, the New York Times, Washington Post and Politico did not once cover miners’ pension and healthcare demands

125-Taxpayers fork out $31 million to clean up toxic coal gasification plant

126-The 'war on coal' myth  Environmental regulations aren't the reason that coal is falling off the map.

127-Coal waste found to be a 'ticking time bomb' across Australia  Environmental Justice Australia report finds problems at ash dumps in every mainland state

rises higher

128-Ashes to Ashes  A Georgia town welcomed America's largest coal plant. Now, residents worry it's contaminating their water.

129-4 astonishing signs of coal’s declining economic viability - Coal is now a loser around the world.

130-Coal Ash Is Contaminating Groundwater in at least 22 States, Utility Reports Show  So far, utilities have acknowledged the presence of enough health-harming contaminants like arsenic to trigger cleanup rules at 70 coal-fired power plant sites.

131-Coal from six biggest miners in Australia produces more emissions than entire economy Big emitting companies should be held responsible for the burning of their coal overseas, report says

132-Eleven Coal Companies Have Filed for Bankruptcy Since Trump Took Office

133-Four in five EU coal plants are unprofitable, can’t compete with renewables

134-Texas coal companies are leaving behind contaminated land. The state is letting them.

135-Mapping the Coal Ash Contamination  737 coal ash units in 43 states and Puerto Rico have reported information in compliance with federal coal ash safeguards since 2015. Here’s what the data said.

136-The future of coal has already been decided in boardrooms around the globe

137-The Never-Ending Curse of Coal

138-Bob Murray, Who Fought Black Lung Regulations As A Coal Operator, Has Filed For Black Lung Benefits

139-Queensland’s state owned coal plants may never again be profitable, new analysis finds

140-Global demand for coal could hit all-time high in 2022 - Electricity from coal plants has risen by 9% this year to fuel economic recovery from Covid, says watchdog

141-Crédit Agricole: dodgy coal deals reveal policy breach

142-Russia’s war is a short-term win for coal

143-Still Too Many Coal Plants to Keep Warming Below 1.5 C

144-‘It was a set-up, we were fooled’: the coal mine that ate an Indian village

145-US renewable energy farms outstrip 99% of coal plants economically – study It is cheaper to build solar panels or cluster of wind turbines and connect them to the grid than to keep operating coal plants

146-Report: Renewables Now Cheaper Than Coal Plants In West Virginia

147-Coal Power Plants Less Economically Feasible Compared to Renewables

148-Renewables are forcing the closure of US coal plants

149-Australian coal plants produce less power; but FAR more toxic pollution (YouYube)

150-From peak to plummet in 15 years: Coal continues its precipitous decline "This is not an economic cycle that is simply going to go away. It is a real phaseout across the industry of the use of coal."

151-MELISSA FOURIE: Coal power kills thousands — phase it out

152-Why electricity prices are FAR higher in QLD & NSW than the rest of Australia (YouTube)

153-US experts shocked by Coals sudden death spiral in the United States (YouTube)

154-Coalmines pollute much more than their operators predicted when they sought approval

155-The coal industry may be dying in the U.S., but its deadly impacts are not

156-Pollution From Coal Plants Is Killing An Average Of 60 People PER DAY (YouTube)

157-Rooftop solar installs break records; coal powerplants could soon be bankrupt (YouTube)

158-Germany had its lowest emissions in 70 years after coal hit a record low

159-Renewables will overtake coal as largest global electricity source in 1 year (YouTube)

160-EPA Admits: Oops, Coal Ash Is More Toxic & Carcinogenic Than We Thought.

161-Wind & Solar Power hit pivot point in USA; coal power plants shutting down (YouTube)

162-Harvard says US coal power plants killed over 460,000 people in past 20 years (YouTube)

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