[jillesvangurp]

If someone ever figures out a class action suit to represent people living near coal plants that are suffering from (or have died from) the side effects of living in a polluted area, it's going to be pretty much game over for the coal industry. At this point they can't really claim ignorance. Bringing this up because class action suits are quite common in the US and have also caused a lot of trouble for e.g. the tobacco industry.

The case for continuing to kill people with smog is pretty weak and cleaning up remaining plants is not going to make operating them any cheaper. It's also a great argument against building more (although entirely redundant considering the economics of coal in general).