Actually, from a scientific point of view, there are a lot cleaner and more abundant sources of energy available if the people who have the money act with some altruism and initiative to implement them. The cost of switching over would be huge and employment would be an issue however. I'm from West Virginia which is a big coal state. Basically, the state is pretty underdeveloped compared to the rest of the country. The Republicans and big business are trying to preserve the coal industry here without considering that a whole generation of young people have grown up with the idea that they would go to college instead of being laborers. As a result, there is a massive exodus of people leaving the state. So that business will cease to be as fruitful in a few years.