Study guesses side effects of coal cost taxpayers $345 billion a year, give or take $170 billion

A study from a Harvard University researcher estimates coal costs the United States $345 billion annually in expenses that are not borne by miners or utilities, but are paid by taxpayers. The report attempts to take into account a variety of side effects that lead author Paul Epstein, associate director of Harvard's Center for Health and the Global Environment, associates with mining and burning coal. Those include "the cost of treating elevated rates of cancer and other illnesses in coal-mining areas, environmental damage and lost tourism opportunities in coal regions where mountaintop removal is practiced and climate change resulting from elevated emissions of carbon dioxide from burning the coal," Scott Malone of Reuters reports.

"The public cost is far greater than the cost of the coal itself," Epstein said. "The impacts of this industry go way beyond just lighting our lights." The U.S. Department of Energy reports coal is used to generate 45 percent of U.S. electricity. The study, which will be published in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, estimates the true costs of coal to taxpayers could fall between $175 billion or $523 billion annually.

Lisa Camooso Miller, a spokeswoman for industry group the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, told Malone, "The Epstein article ignores the substantial benefits of coal in maintaining lower energy prices for American families and businesses. Lower energy prices are linked to a higher standard of living and better health." (Read more)