From KCRW in Santa Monica and PRI, Public Radio International, this is To the Point.

China, the environment, and the future of coal in America.

Hello again, I'm Orman Alony, and this is To the Point from Public Radio International.

A daily look at the issues Americans care about most. The U.S. is getting greener as coal is replaced by natural gas, which is

cleaner and cheaper, but that doesn't mean the coal industry is going away. Massive coal deposits

on federal land in Wyoming and Montana have already been leased to companies with plans for

export to China. That's created furious opposition to mile-long coal trains and entire new ports proposed for construction on the Pacific Coast.

What would it mean for local pollution and global warming?

Will the principal benefits go to the public or the coal industry?

On Reporters' Notebook later on, a new book is creating another steward about Scientology.

First, here's the news.

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Hello again, Warren Alney, back with To the Point. With a declining market for coal in the United States, the coal industry wants to export its product to China, where demand is bigger than ever.

What would new rail traffic and new port construction mean for the environment and the clean economy of the Pacific Northwest?

What about global warming? On reporter's notebook, the Church of Scientology is taking a hit

from a new book it calls false and unsupportable. We'll hear from the author. First, this news update in

Egypt on the second anniversary of the ouster of Hosni Mubarak, Tahrir Square in Cairo is full of

protesters against his successor. David Kirkpatrick is Cairo Bureau Chief of the New York Times,

familiar voice on our program. Thanks very much for joining us.

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