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eliminate hundreds of millions of tons of highly toxic waste, air pollution, tens of thousands of deaths annually

The nun has you hook - line - and - sinker I see...

What nun are you talking about?

"Coal is a moral issue,” said Marlene Perroti of the Sisters of Mercy. Because of its environmental, health and climate effects, use of coal violates religious values of justice, stewardship and respect for life, she said.

Oh, the nutcase, Marlene. Energy availability is a moral issue. Because of the way lack of energy causes poverty and disease, any attempt to displace coal in favor of something that costs more for the same amount of electricity or to reduce the amount of electricity available to who has it now and/or to prevent its introduction to regions of the world that desperately need it violates religious values of justice, stewardship, and respect for life. If Marlene were really interested in morality and helping the poor, she'd be first in line agitating for the widespread and worldwide use of nuclear energy and the electrification of every backwater town on the face of the planet.

Oh, the nutcase, Marlene.

Yes, I was trying to make a joke about the her, it was bad I admit.

I agree about nuclear power. We need more of it.

I disagree about coal being poison. Poison is everywhere in minute quantities. Burning coal does nothing to change that, with the exception of redistribution. If it were that poison, coal power station workers would be dropping like flies from arsenic, thorium, mercury, and other types of poisoning. This is because this is the place where it is combusted and they are exposed more than any others. I have worked in coal plants for 15 years. I have never heard of people getting sick from these substances. As a matter of fact, these substances are so minute, a normal coal sample chemical analysis doesn't even detect them. You literally have to burn tons of the stuff to get an amount that is still minute. Add in dispersion back into the environment and it is insignificant. I'd worry more about poisoning from the asphalt shingles on the roof, and I don't worry about that either.