One writer observes:

China added more coal-burning power plants in 2007 than Britain has built in its history, said Gerard McCloskey, a coal market specialist with Cambridge Energy Research Associates in London.

America’s no slouch, though. Already, the US gets almost half its power from coal, with a rise expected in the next few decades. We’re simultaneously leveling mountains and digging canyons to extract the stuff. Strange, given what the same author points out:

Coal-fired power generation and manufacturing is the leading source of carbon dioxide and methane emissions, which scientists agree are the leading contributors to the “greenhouse effect” and global warming.

But what’s got me worried is this: as oil sources dry up and energy demand outstrips supply more every year, we’re increasingly turning to one of the worst possible alternatives–coal–and rationalizing it.

President Bush’s final words as he left the recent G8 summit?:

“Goodbye from the world’s biggest polluter.”

The UK’s Daily Telegraph reports what happened next:

“He then punched the air while grinning widely, as the rest of those present including Gordon Brown and Nicolas Sarkozy looked on in shock.”

Yes, folks, that’s the President of the United States, fist in the air and a leering grin while making a joke about one of the most destructive problems in human history. It’s beyond embarrassing for Americans. As Bush (and Cheney) wind down their last few months in office in belligerent, obnoxious, screw-you-Americans style, it’s ever clearer how they really feel about the whole “leading the country” thing.

And the G8 summit? Criticized by nearly everyone as an utter failure on addressing the problem.