Coal consumption and production have sharply declined in recent years in the U.S., despite political support. Reasons are mostly unfavorable economic conditions for coal, including competition from natural gas and renewables in the power sector, as well as an aging coal- fired power plant fleet....

"Global decarbonization is humanity's most pressing challenge. Powering Empire offers the first historical roadmap charting how the world was carbonized. It also jettisons some misleading yet prevalent myths and clears impediments to this task. One is the naïve assumption that we are currently...