> Coal is also quite polluting and no one wants to live near a coal energy plant. With modern filters and high enough smokestacks, the effect on air quality do

> Coal is also quite polluting and no one wants to live near a coal energy plant. With modern filters and high enough smokestacks, the effect on air quality doesn't seem to be that bad. In my region, every city has its own coal plant (mostly used to provide heat for the city in the winter) and I don't notice the effects on air quality. It's definitely a small fraction of the pollution brought by people burning coal at home (in old boilers, obviously without any filters and with low chimneys).