"As the third-largest coal producer, Kentucky generates about 94% of its electricity from the resource. As a result, the state has some of the lowest electricity prices in the country. But that’s not the true cost of energy.
According to a health impact assessment by the Kentucky Environmental Foundation that examines research on the impact of coal in Kentucky, the health costs came in at more than $62 million in 2007 — and that’s just for asthma, which inflicts 1 in 10 Kentuckians and kills about 50 people in the state per year. Asthma rates for African Americans of high school age in Kentucky are at 22%.
More than 3.3 million residents in the state live within 30 miles of a coal fired power plant."

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Coal Does More Harm Than Good in Kentucky: $62 Million for Asthma Costs, $10 Billion for Lost Lives

How nice. 

Let me tell you something else about Kentucky.  Because it has some of the cheapest energy prices, the buildings are not as insulated as they should be.  A builder told me that the price of energy was cheaper than the prices of building / insulation so he knew a few builders (from his era - about 40 years ago) who under insulated the homes they built.  ha!  You have to admire humans for always always always looking for loopholes.

And Kentucky loves its coal business so much, it even has a license plate to go along with it:


(via stopkillingourworld)

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