Coal Consumption Growth Still Outpacing Oil And Natural Gas

If you pay attention to press stories in the United States about booming production of oil and natural gas from shale you might think that King Coal is in serious trouble. Well, coal consumption in America is certainly down. But King Coal is still booming globally, outpacing oil and natural gas. Coal use increased by an average of 3.4 percent per year from 2007 to 2012, faster than the increase in either oil or natural gas. Consumption through 2018 is expected to increase by 2.3 percent a year, the I.E.A. said. Most countries are not willing to impose on themselves the sorts of high electric power costs that Germans pay in the name of green energy. If the natural gas...

Source: FuturePundit - December 22, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Randall Parker Source Type: blogs