Things like coal are only cheap if one disregards the true cost (including excess CO2 production and other pollutants).
There's an element of truth there, and China, and other developing countries have capitalized on this factor of disregarding the environmental damage and atmospheric pollution that can result from mining and burning coal.
They have disregarded this environmental pollution for the perceived benefits that flow from cheap energy, such as rapid economic development and raising the masses out of poverty. Clean energy from coal is more expensive. However, when one takes into consideration the benefits of the reliability of electricity supply 24 hours a day, the latest Ultra-Supercritical coal-fired power stations, are still currently cheaper than most of the alternatives, and as clean as matters.
However, I am aware there are many confused individuals who seem incapable of understanding that CO2 is not a pollutant, but is a clear, odorless gas which is essential for all life, and at current levels does a better job of helping to green our planet and increase agricultural production, than lower levels of CO2 would.
On the one hand, we slash down huge areas of natural forest for agricultural purposes, and on the other hand, our emissions of CO2 help the remaining forests grow more vigorously, which at least partially compensates for mankind's destruction of the forests.
If we are going to consider the total costs of all the negatives associated with fossil fuels, for the purpose of cost comparisons, then we should also take into consideration all the positives, and also the alternative 'best practices' that modern technologies make possible. Mining of Lithium for batteries, and various rare-earth metals, also can result in environmental damage, which should not be allowed.
Some waste products of coal-burning should be considered as assets. Fly ash has been used for years as an ingredient in concrete and road building. Depending on the quality of the fly ash, it can also be used to improve soils for agriculture.
http://scialert.net/fulltext/?doi=ajar.2010.1.14If we use our imagination we should be able to devise synergistic industries whereby, for example, a coal-fired power station is purposefully situated in an area where the soil quality is poor. The fly ash could then be used to improve the soil in the surrounding area to make it suitable for agriculture, and the CO2 emissions from the power station could be wafted over the crops, day and night, to increase growth and reduce the crops' need for water.
