Why are we still doing this? Coal provides about 38% of the world's electricity and is used in iron production and nearly 70% of the world's steel production, and it is also the main binding ingredient in concrete, according to The World Coal Institute (http://www.wci-coal.com/web/content.php?menu_id=5.9.1). There's a LOT of industry that would have to be shifted away from coal usage, across the world, before the world would stop mining it.