Coal is ground-zero in the environmental wars, and it is the most important battle that we’re fighting today. The overarching eco-myth that I will debunk is the one about coal being a dirty form of energy that our country can do without. First, I am going to talk about the need for coal and then discuss the wanton and reckless smearing and elimination of it. The coal industry helps generate about 40% of the U.S.’ electricity. Coal makes the lowest cost and most reliable electricity. The coal industry, directly or indirectly, employs about 800,000 people, generates 50 billion dollars in labor income, and contributes about 100 billion dollars to . Yet, these impressive statistics don’t somehow come close to doing justice to the benefits America, and the world, derive from the tremendous natural resource that is coal, of which we are blessed to have a several hundred-year supply.