Exporting coal is stupid and unethical. But, who listens to me!

I cannot believe that we Oregonians are actually considering the idea of partnering with Wyoming and Montana in order to export coal toChina and anybody else who might want it.

Without a doubt, coal was an integral component of the revolution that transformed the world over the last two hundred-plus years.  Coal’s heat melted iron in furnaces, generated the steam for the “iron horse” locomotive engines, and accounts for nearly 45 percent of the electricity generated in the US.

However, the days of coal as a resource that fuels the economic engine are behind us.  To quite a large extent, we need to start thinking about coal the way we think about wood as a source of fuel.  Three centuries ago, wood was by far the dominant source of energy—but, that does not mean that we harvest trees in order to export them as firewood, do we?

Our energy sources are quickly shifting towards better and cheaper alternatives.  Even now, it turns out that joule for joule, natural gas is rapidly becoming a better bargain than coal, similar to how coal itself displaced wood in our economic history.  While natural gas extraction and use is not without controversies, its price has been rapidly falling over the last few years, and is expected to decrease in the immediate future as well.  The price for natural gas, which accounts for about a quarter of the energy consumption in the US, has halved over the past year.  So inexpensive it has become that even coal-fired power generation plants are now being converted to make use of this better source.

I do understand the practical aspects of using coal in the developing countries.  I grew up in an industrial township in Indiawhere low-quality coal was mined, which continues even now, in order to generate electricity.  Every visit to India is a stark reminder of the tremendous energy shortage there.  Countries like China and India, which are experiencing rapid economic growth rates, will need a great deal of energy to sustain this pace and they simply cannot dig enough coal fast enough from under their own soils.  Hence, they import coal, typically from Australia and Indonesia.  One can, therefore, easily see why a Wyoming might want to export coal—domestic demand is dropping fast, and there is an external demand for the same commodity. 

That there is a global market for coal shouldn’t surprise us, when, after all, even now, there is quite an active market for firewood in villages in India or Tanzania. But, that does not automatically mean we should hitch our economic wagons to these coal trains.  This is not expected to generate a great deal of long-term sustained jobs and incomes, nor will the few dollars have significant local economic multiplier effects.  To cap it all, coal is not a growth industry, but one whose obsolescence is underway.

And then there are serious ethical problems.  We regulate coal—right from the mining stage—because we understand its potential to severely affect human and other life forms, and the natural environment itself.  The burning of coal is regulated because of its various byproducts, including carbon dioxide.  When we are so worried about the use of coal, shouldn’t we pause to carefully consider whether we would want to export it to countries where regulatory and oversight structures are considerably below our standards?

Finally, I find it disturbing, to put it mildly, that affluent countries like the US and Canada, to merely name a few, are vociferous about the fragile global environment, and yet are eager to sell to poorer countries the very resources that are confirmed harmful agents.  Whether it is coal or asbestos, which Canada gladly exports while banning domestic consumption, these super-rich countries are only too happy to export to the much poorer cousins materials whose continued use is not in the best interests of anybody on this planet.

I would rather that we developed and exported technical knowledge so that the developing countries can afford to bypass the mistakes the richer countries made in their industrial revolutions.  But, by exporting coal, we do these countries no favor at all. 

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