Coal on the rise this week

Humans are increasing our use of coal for fuel, despite environmental costs and the eventual specter of peak supplies.

• Europe is building up to 50 more coal-fired power plants. Environmentalists protest, but defenders cite technological improvements and rising fuel costs.
• An American project to test burning coal cleanly is about to fire up.

At home on the mountain, we're not using coal now, nor are we planning to start.