What if estimates of world-wide coal supplies are exaggerated? According to a report in the scientific journal Energy, there is evidence that this may be the case.
The report's authors say estimates of coal reserves do not present a reliable picture of recoverable coal. Instead of the 200 to 400 year supply touted by industry enthusiasts, we could hit "peak coal" in 2011. As a result, the cheap and easy coal may be gone very soon, causing usage to drop by about 50% before 2050.
David Roberts of Grist questions what this means for energy policy and humanity. He highlights the need for extensive research to verify or disprove the numbers.
If true, federal energy policy should be steered away from the so-called "clean coal" research, which is dumping boatloads of money into developing carbon capture technology, based on the assumption that coal will be a major energy supply for the long term.
But perhaps more importantly, humanity will need to figure out very quickly how to make up the gap in energy supply.
Read Roberts' piece at the link below.
