“The new EPA rules, which were proposed last year, will require states to cut carbon emissions by 30 percent by 2030…Coal industry representatives now say that they will have to shut down coal plants in anticipation of the new rule, a move they say will destroy jobs and raise the price of electricity. But environmental activists insist that the move away from coal is a necessary one.
‘At every stage of its life, coal does serious damage. Coal is the top contributor to climate change, is a leading cause of mercury pollution, and continues to scar mining communities in untold ways,’ wrote members of the environmental nonprofit the Rainforest Action Network. ‘In the 21st century we should not be using this dangerous and outdated technology to power our homes, schools, hospitals and businesses,’ reads a RAN statement on coal. ‘No bank or power utility should invest even one more dollar in coal.’ ”