Coal is number one when it comes to the U.S. power-generation industry-more than 50% of electricity produced in the U.S. is generated by coal-fired power plants. This is good news except that the contribution of CO2 emissions from fossil fuels to global warming has the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency continually increasing restrictions on emissions from power plants.

Coal is number one when it comes to the U.S. power-generation industry-more than 50% of electricity produced in the U.S. is generated by coal-fired power plants. The plants are less costly to build than nuclear power plants and there's less safety risk involved. And with an estimated 250 years of coal reserves in the U.S., it's likely than new plants will be coal fired. This is good news except that the contribution of CO2 emissions from fossil fuels to global warming has the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency continually increasing restrictions on emissions from power plants. We need to find ways to overcome this dilemma, and there are signs of moving in that direction.