Monday through Thursday this week during Here and Now, WFPL will air a feature series, Coal at the Crossroads. This is is a four-part QUEST series, reported from four public radio stations: KQED in San Francisco, NET in Nebraska, WHYY in Philadelphia, and WCPN in Ohio.Coal is the most plentiful–yet dirtiest–fossil fuel in America. It generates nearly half of all electricity nationwide. Yet with mounting new pollution regulations, health concerns and the rise of renewable energy, is America starting to turn against coal the way it slowly turned against tobacco?Part One of the series comes from KQED and airs today at 1:35pm:As Renewables Boom, California Struggles to Quit Coal. California is known for its "green" reputation. Just look at all the new solar and wind farms popping up around the state. So it might be a surprise that residents in Southern California still depend on coal power when they turn on the lights. The region's utilities are struggling to wean themselves off coal energy. Utilities around the country may soon be facing the same battle.
Brad Yost is a senior producer for LPM. Email Brad at byost@lpm.org.