Coal is our cheapest and most abundant source of fossil-fuel energy. We probably have enough to keep the world powered for hundreds of years. Trouble is, the carbon emissions from burning it all would make the planet uninhabitable long before then. Is there a way to get the energy without the emissions? There certainly is, say coal technologists. Capture the carbon dioxide produced when coal burns and bury it underground, back where the coal came from. Most of the technology to do this is proven, and there are enough places underground to store the CO2 and keep it secure for thousands of years. That at least is the pitch for carbon capture and storage (CCS).