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A Mountain of Coal Stories
For Sierra magazine, coal is a constantly burning issue.
Over the years our articles have explored the damages from mining it, the dangers of burning it, and the enormous role it plays in heating our planet's atmosphere. We also look at the latest in alternatives to dirty power. No one's going to have to sit in the dark. —the editors
COAL FEATURE STORIES
July/August 2010: "Close to Home"
State by state, America moves beyond coal.
JEFF BIGGERS
Charting the green jobs | Best & Worst states | Map: Coal vs. clean energy
May/June 2010: "Addicts and Enablers"
Don't be fooled by all those Mongolian windmills; China has a jones for dirty coal, and Australia has the goods.
ADAM MINTER AND GUY PEARSE
March/April 2010: "High Plains Poison"
A visit to Eastern Montana's coal hell, where ranchers fear coal more for its toxic residues than its role in disrupting Earth's climate.
RICK BASS
January/February 2010: "The West Without Coal"
The states of the Pacific Coast could be the first in the nation to dump dirty energy.
PAUL TULLIS
November/December 2009: "Solving the Climate Puzzle One Piece at a Time"
Dealing with mountaintop-removal mining and the toxic ash left over from burning coal in power plants are key parts of the Club's Big Picture campaign.
PAUL RAUBER
September/October 2009: "A Short History of Bright Ideas"
Renewable energy has sparked innovative thinking since the first Neanderthal basked outside a south-facing cave. A look at the past, present, and future of power from waves and tides, the sun, and the wind.
DAN OKO
July/August 2009: "The Great Alaska Coal Rush"
Wilderness lovers have fought for decades to protect the moose, salmon, and sublime vistas of America's "last frontier" from the ravages of oil development. Now U.S. coal companies want to leave their earth-scraping marks across the state. Appalachia in Alaska, anyone?
ALEX TIZON
May/June 2009: "King Coal in Court"
As the Bush era wound down, power companies rushed to build hundreds of new coal-fired power plants. Activists picked them off one by one – until a Sierra Club lawyer found a chink in the law that just might stop them all. Part II of a series.
SCOTT MARTELLE
March/April 2009: "Killing King Coal"
Dick Cheney's energy plan opened the door to hundreds of new coal-fired power plants. Once on line, they'd make catastrophic global warming virtually inevitable. With little hope of success, a scrappy band of activists figured they'd see if they could block one. Part I of a series.
SCOTT MARTELLE
January/February 2009: "The Dirt on Coal"
Mountaintop-removal mining, as seen from the family graveyard in Lily, Kentucky. Plus: graphic representations of how much coal the average family uses in a month to power their home.
SILAS HOUSE
November/December 2008: "Rotten Fish Tales"
For generations, mountain folk have found solace at the end of a rod and reel, fishing in Fish Trap Lake. Mountaintop-removal mining is putting an end to that.
ALEX TIZON
INNOVATE COLUMNS
July/August 2010: "Wave Power"
Gnarly and clean
DAVID FERRIS
May/June 2010: "Tomorrow's wind power"
New designs in wind power
DAVID FERRIS
March/April 2010: "Empowering villages"
Energy for the developing world
DAVID FERRIS
January/February 2010: "Hydropower without dams"
Clean power that's easy on the environment
MYRON LEVIN
November/December 2009: "Biofuel From Pond Scum"
The energy promise of algae.
MYRON LEVIN
September/October 2009: "Friendlier Skies"
Commercial airlines go on an energy diet.
MYRON LEVIN
July/August 2009: "Vehicles that Tread Lightly"
How to get 100+ mpg out of cars.
REED McMANUS
May/June 2009: "For Plugged-In Living"
Smart power meters, smart energy grid.
MYRON LEVIN
March/April 2009: "To Develop a Head of Steam"
Latest advances in geothermal energy.
MYRON LEVIN
January/February 2009: "From Hogan to Grid"
Building a better photovoltaic system.
ALEXIS MADRIGAL
Photos: Lauren Burke (family), Ashford7/southwings (mountaintop-removal mining)