Stopping coal use is a priority of climate alarmists and the environmental left, and a common talking point when the liberal media issue dramatic warnings. Sometimes, those talking points aren’t even vaguely true. Just ask The New York Times.
The latest “dire” climate warnings from the United Nations were no exception. CBS This Morning turned to Times international climate correspondent Somini Sengupta as an expert to break it down for them — incorrectly.
She said “hard” things must be done including “weaning off things like using coal for electricity.”
Then she dropped a big error: “You and I don’t use coal. But the world as a whole relies on coal,” Sengupta said. Simply not true. While the “world” may rely more heavily on coal, a significant portion of American power still comes from coal.
The U.S. consumed 717 million short tons of coal in 2017, for uses in electricity, and industrial and commercial applications.
Although coal use in the United States has declined in recent years, it is still heavily relied upon for electricity generation — providing about 30 percent of electric power according to the Energy Information Administration. That’s only slightly behind the largest source, natural gas, and more than nuclear power (20 percent) and more than combined renewable sources (17 percent).
