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Since the late 18th century, when it emerged as a source of heating and, later, steam power, coal has brought untold benefits to mankind. Even today, coal generates almost 45 percent of the world's power. Our modern technological society would be inconceivable without coal and the energy it provides. Unfortunately, that society will not survive unless we wean ourselves off coal. The largest single source of greenhouse gases, coal is responsible for 43 percent of the world's carbon emissions. Richard Martin, author of SuperFuel, argues that to limit catastrophic climate change, we must find a way to power our world with less polluting energy sources, and we must do it in the next couple of decades-or else it is "game over." It won't be easy: as coal plants shut down across the United States, and much of Europe turns to natural gas, coal use is growing in the booming economies of Asia- particularly China and India. Even in Germany, where nuclear power stations are being phased out in the wake of the Fukushima accident, coal use is growing. Led by the Sierra Club and its ambitious "Beyond Coal" campaign, environmentalists hope to drastically reduce our dependence on coal in the next decade. But doing so will require an unprecedented contraction of an established, lucrative, and politically influential worldwide industry. Big Coal will not go gently. And its decline will dramatically change lives everywhere-from Appalachian coal miners and coal company executives to activists in China's nascent environmental movement.
Based on a series of journeys into the heart of coal land, from Wyoming to West Virginia to China's remote Shanxi Province, hundreds of interviews with people involved in, or affected by, the effort to shrink the industry, and deep research into the science, technology, and economics of the coal industry, Coal Wars chronicles the dramatic stories behind coal's big shutdown-and the industry's desperate attempts to remain a global behemoth. A tour de force of literary journalism, Coal Wars will be a milestone in the climate change battle. Richard Martin is one of America's foremost writers and analysts on energy, technology, and foreign affairs. He is the editorial director at Navigant Research, the premier clean energy research and analysis firm. A contributing editor for Wired, feature writer for Fortune, and energy blogger for Forbes.com, he is the author of SuperFuel, which chronicled the thorium power movement. He lives in Boulder, Colorado.
"The race to shut down the coal industry is synonymous with the race to save the climate--and from Appalachia to inner Mongolia, brave activists are leading the fight. This comprehensive account makes it clear why their work is so crucial and so hard, pitting them against not just ingrained tradition but against some of the richest resource barons on earth." -Bill McKibben, author of Earth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet
"Martin has managed to locate dozens of compelling personal narratives that show the human face of a debate that is too often reduced-by environmentalists as much as by the coal industry-to numbers and yawn-inducing energy wonkery." -Tim McDonnell, Mother Jones
"A clear-eyed and beautifully written narrative of the people, cities and companies whose lives and existence are wrapped up in the 4,000-year-old history of this iconic source of power. Coal Wars is a gripping account of the stakes at play as the world necessarily winds down its consumption of the fossil fuel. Given that the subject might be grim, it is a surprisingly enjoyable read and a unique contribution to the literature." -Steve LeVine, author of The Powerhouse: Inside the Invention of a Battery to Save the World and Washington Correspondent for Quartz
"Martin chronicles his visits to a handful of places where coal is an important part of not just daily life, but the region's history and ec
