Op-ed: Don't sell U.S. coal to Asian markets

There is no such thing as "clean" coal. Whether anthracite or bituminous, the stuff is fossilized dirt, and digging it up and shoveling it into a furnace means spreading the filthy, harmful dust. The writer of this NY Times op-ed says it right. If Americans care about the atmosphere we leave for generations to come, we'd better stop burning it, and selling it, too.

The image of shipping coal by train: Dirt, dust, dirt and more dust

That's because coal, even the hard anthracite coal once pulled from the Earth by hardscrabble miners in northeastern Pennsylvania, is dirty, filthy stuff. If the Americans of the Pacific Northwest think they can keep and build on their "green" image by welcoming coaltrains, they are mistaken -- sad and otherwise. Read about that "green" image vs. coal right here.