Obama should recieve some of the credit for this.Through the EPA he has made it almost impossible to start up a coal power plant or even opening a mine.
Another indirect factor that the article doesn't mention is the state of the economy. The unemployed don't spend as much on fuel; No too and from work or travelling on vacation.
With more plants closing or moving to China there is less industrial burning of carbon based fuels in the US. You might see this as good environmentally but, one should consider that those items produced over seas have a greater impact on the environment. They are produced under much lower environmental standards than North America and then shipped a great distance to market.
One net benefit of having on going record high unemployment might be the fact that people consume less. Beyond fuel there is stuff like clothes and electronics not being purchased. Less money means a lot of the extras are being cut out which is slowing China's economy.
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