China, for example, is still struggling to tap its coal bed methane and other sources of gas, and a viable large-scale business model for gas doesn't fully exist in that country.
Even one of the bright spots for the industry — the boom in coal-fired power plants in rapidly industrializing China and India — has dimmed as those countries seek cleaner alternatives or tap domestic coal supplies.
The lucky recipient was Gunupati Venkata Krishna Reddy, whose company, GVK Hancock, is one of those looking to tap the huge coal reserves of Queensland's Galilee Basin.
DM&E would become the third railroad to tap into the coal deposits in the region.
And that's an even bigger benefit for US coal than tapping the Asian markets.
Much of the early development tapped Henan's rich coal seams in the northwest.
"It is really a rich compound of the smells of pine sawdust, tap drippings, pipe tobacco, coal smoke and onions.
Also, there is a thick, musty smell that acts as a balm to jerky nerves; it is really a rich compound of the smells of pine sawdust, tap drippings, pipe tobacco, coal smoke, and onions.
For example, one of Chao's appointed deputies was Steven Law, who had previously worked at the National Republican Senatorial Committee helping McConnell tap donors such as coal magnate Bob Murray, the paper reported.
Urban and rural areas could greatly benefit from an alternative energy source such as geothermal energy, tapping into heat trapped beneath coal seams and insulating sediments.
