Coal in China

China is promoting coal-fired power as the ruling Communist Party tries to revive a sluggish economy, prompting warnings Beijing is setting back efforts to cut climate-changing carbon emissions from the biggest global source.

China is increasing its daily coal production by more than a million tons in the context of electricity shortages and at a time when leaders from around the world are negotiating in Glasgow on an agreement on how to save our planet from global warming, AFP reported.

"My administration is putting an end to the war on coal," said Donald Trump, surrounded by the usual gaggle of officials and (in this case) coal-miners, as he put his super-size signature on the Energy Independence Executive Order. But coal is dying as a major energy source in the United States for reasons far beyond the reach of executive orders.

Turkey has been shaken by a new coal disaster in the wake of Soma, where 301 people lost their lives in May. After Soma, this time it was in Ermenek where 18 workers were trapped under water. Neither Soma nor Ermenek will be the first or the last.