Coal ostensibly has a rather high rate of deaths caused per joule of energy produced, compared to some other non-renewables (e.g. nuclear, iirc?). To the exten

Coal ostensibly has a rather high rate of deaths caused per joule of energy produced, compared to some other non-renewables (e.g. nuclear, iirc?). To the extent that that is true; to the extent that these deaths aren't solely of coal workers (who therefore ought to be aware of the risks and to have bargained for commensurate wages+benefits); and to the extent that this is indeed an externality (i.e. neither the coal companies nor their customers pay anything for deaths caused by coal) ... then (a) coal is indeed evil, and (b) the industry ought to be politically pressured out of business, and when it goes out of business we all ought to say "good riddance". Come to think of it, externalization of costs is, in general, a singularly evil state of affairs, even outside the coal industry. Perhaps humanity should work on fixing it.