"When it comes to coal mining in the United States, environmentalists have a simple goal: End it. For the Obama administration, it's a little more complicated. Since taking office nearly three years ago, the administration has restricted coal-mining waste from being dumped into streams and imposed new pollution controls on coal-fired power plants. But on the fundamental question of whether the government should halt federal leasing, the administration's answer has been: not yet."

Juliet Eilperin reports for the Washington Post December 25, 2011. [2]