US Weaning Itself Off Dirty Coal, But...

The rest of the world, not so fast, says The Washington Post:

For a variety of reasons — from the advent of cheap natural gas from fracking to new EPA rules on air pollution — coal plants across the United States are shutting down. The older, dirtier plants especially are no longer economical...

Coal use is growing at a staggering pace around the world, particularly in countries such as China and India. That’s created a potentially vast market for coal exports. Currently, U.S. coal producers like Arch Coal and Alpha Natural Resources are hoping to build large export terminals in the Pacific Northwest to compensate for falling demand here.