National Geographic: Peabody Energy, the largest coal company in the Western world, declared bankruptcy Wednesday. The announcement is a towering sign that coal power likely has reached a point of no return in a world seeking cleaner energy sources.
Nearly 200 countries committed last December in Paris to cut emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases. Burning coal for electricity emits twice the carbon dioxide of natural gas, and the resulting pollutants have been linked to thousands of premature deaths and asthma...