The coal industry is an even larger part of the Australian economy than it is of the American, and it has an enormous amount of political power.

President Obama is in no danger of being judged by history as an eco-radical.

In reality, Republicans have long been at war with clean energy. They have ridiculed investments in solar and wind power, bashed energy-efficiency standards, attacked state moves to promote renewable energy and championed laws that would enshrine taxpayer subsidies for fossil fuels while stripping them from wind and solar.

Geoengineering - the deliberate, large-scale manipulation of the earth's climate to offset global warming - is a nightmare fix for climate change.

It may be too late for West Virginia to save itself from the ravages of Big Coal. But it's not too late for America.

Some studies have shown that natural gas could, in fact, be worse for the climate than coal.

In reality, studies show that investments to spur renewable energy and boost energy efficiency generate far more jobs than oil and coal.