"Not in My Backyard: US Sending Dirty Coal Abroad"

"NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Coal from Appalachia rumbles into this port city, 150 railroad cars at a time, bound for the belly of the massive cargo ship Prime Lily. The ship soon sets sail for South America, its 80,000 tons of coal destined for power plants and factories, an export of American energy — and pollution.

In the U.S., this coal and the carbon dioxide it will eventually release into the atmosphere are some of the unwanted leftovers of an America going greener. With the country moving to cleaner natural gas, the Obama administration wants to reduce power plant pollution to make good on its promise to the world to cut emissions.

Yet the estimated 228,800 tons of carbon dioxide contained in the coal aboard the Prime Lily equals the annual emissions of a small American power plant. It's leaving this nation's shores, but not the planet."

Dina Cappiello reports for the Associated Press July 28, 2014, in a feature package that includes reporting by David Rising and Kirsten Grieshaber.

SEE ALSO:

"AP PHOTOS: Coal-Exporting Town Fights Rising Seas" (AP Photos by Patrick Semansky)

"Coal Exports Help US Clean Up Global Warming Pollution at Home -- But Still Pollute Elsewhere" (Associated Press)

"Coal Exports Are 'Single Biggest Flaw In U.S. Climate Policy,' Former EPA Official Warns" (AP)

"US Exports Help Germany Increase Coal, Pollution" (AP)

"Climate Change Strategy Called a Shell Game" (AP)

"5 Things To Know About How Us Coal Exports Shift Global Warming Problem Onto Other Countries" (AP)

"US Feeds a World Hungry for Coal (AP infographic)

"US Coal Exports Have Erased All The CO2 Savings From the Fracking Boom" (Mother Jones)

"US Shipping More Leftover Coal Abroad Amid Climate Change Fears" (RIA Novosti (Russian Government))