Those with an interest in energy issues may or may not, but should, be aware of Utilipoint's free IssueAlert mailing list, a near-daily energy news and analysis bulletin from Reason contributor Ken Silverstein. He's straightforward, accessible, and covers a wide variety of issues, including widely covered, 'glamorous' topics like politics, alternative energy, nuclear power, and climate change - but frequently he features useful primers on somewhat obscure but no less useful topics. Like yesterday's article on the nuances of the US coal industry:
Coal is shining now that high natural gas prices are in the spotlight. When amendments to the Clean Air Act passed in 1990, many green groups let out a sigh of relief: Toxic emissions would get cut by forcing utilities to rely on natural gas and not coal.
But, that was 15 years ago. Coal interests have never been more emboldened. Not only has the Bush administration given them more flexibility to fulfill their environmental obligations but it has also worked to fund so-called clean coal technologies that try to improve the fuel source's emission levels. Still, coal owes much of its good fortune to the fact that it is the one fuel source for electric generation that is abundant and cheap. Nuclear facilities are difficult to finance and to permit while natural gas prices remain high because the demand exceeds the supplies available.
Not all coal, however, is created equal...
If you're interested in reading any further than that, you'll probably want to read the whole thing.